The Neutron Show
by GaDS2000
Summary: When Jimmy investigates some unusual events that happen to him, he discovers that his entire life has actually been a carefully-orchestrated TV show. Or has it?
1. Part 1 Picture Imperfect

The Neutron Show

by Gary D. Snyder

Chapter 1:

_I hate photo day_, thought Jimmy unhappily. It was perhaps the twentieth time he had thought it that day, and although he had said nothing out loud his friend Carl Wheezer recognized the disgruntled expression on Jimmy's face and attempted to console him.

"Cheer up, Jimmy," Carl said. "We only have to have our pictures taken once a year."

Jimmy gave a snort of disgust. "It's a waste of time. With my Chronoscope 3000 people can see what their kids looked like in sixth grade if they really want to."

"Yeah," agreed Sheen Estevez, who was wearing more Ultra Lord garb than usual. "But this way you can let everyone see your latest Ultra Lord spring ensemble!" When Jimmy and Carl stared at him Sheen fidgeted uncomfortably and quickly amended, "I mean, action gear. That's what I meant. Not ensemble."

"That's another thing," Jimmy grumbled. "For a whole day I have to wear a ridiculously uncomfortable suit and tie. And for what? Absolutely nothing!"

At that point Betty Quinlan, looking devastatingly attractive in her carefully coifed hair and demurely provocative outfit, paused and gave Jimmy an admiring look. "I like your suit, Jimmy," she smiled, shutting down the mental processes of all three boys. Then she moved on, leaving a faint hint of perfume lingering in the air behind her.

"Then again…" Jimmy began as his brain began to function again.

"Uh-huh," Carl agreed.

"You said it," Sheen added.

"Okay, drool spoolers," said a familiar voice. "The school district doesn't need a pond here, so close the mouths and reel in the tongues." The speaker was Cindy Vortex, standing with her arms folded and wearing an annoyed expression. Her friend Libby Folfax, standing next to Cindy, was giving Sheen an especially severe glare. Sheen desperately tried to implement some damage control.

"Hey, Libs," he greeted Libby as he strolled up to her. "Can you believe how far some of these other girls go to every year trying to upstage you?" He swallowed and tried to smile. "Unsuccessfully, I might add," he said weakly.

Libby's features softened somewhat. "You mean that?"

Encouraged, Sheen pressed on. "Absolutely! If you don't believe me you can stay by my side 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, 100 years a –"

"All right! All right! I forgive you!" Libby interrupted, clapping her hands over her ears. "Just cool it with the time units." When she saw that Sheen had stopped talking she removed her hands. "But just to show me you meant what you said, you can treat me to a Purple Flurp at the Candy Bar after school."

"Done and done," Sheen agreed, as Libby began walking away. "I'll be counting the seconds. 60 seconds to the minute, 60 minutes to the hour, 24 hours to the –" He stopped, puzzled, as Libby gave a scream and ran off with her hands again pressed tightly over her ears. "I don't get it," he said, scratching his head. "I thought that girls were supposed to be good at math."

Jimmy, in the meantime, had approached Cindy who was still glaring at him. In place of her usual ponytail she was wearing her hair down so that it fell softly about her shoulders, and she was dressed in a white blouse and green skirt that brought out soft green of her eyes. At the moment those usually warm eyes were like emerald ice that flicked with a dangerous fire. Despite that Jimmy couldn't help but notice just how beautiful she looked.

"Hey, Cindy," he faltered. "I – uh – you look really nice today."

"Interesting of you to notice," Cindy snapped. "I hadn't realized your eyeballs were back in their sockets already."

The rebuff annoyed Jimmy. "Hey, what's your problem?"

"Problem?" Cindy feigned indifference. "I don't have a problem."

"Good! Because I don't see why it should matter to you if I happen to notice what other Bettys – I mean people –"

Cindy gave a derisive sniff. "Notice all you want, Nerd-tron. It doesn't matter to me. Not that what I think would ever matter to you."

"Well, who said it should?"

"Who said I'd want it to?"

"All right, cla-a-ass!" came Miss Fowl's voice, interrupting the argument. "Let's get in line for your – bra-a-a-awk - individual photos. Then we can take the class picture and get ba-a-ack to class."

As Jimmy headed into the auditorium and shuffled towards the end of the line leading to the photographer Cindy cut in front of him. "Pearls before swine, Neutron," she shot back at him. "And this way I don't have to worry about the lens breaking before they take my picture."

"No," Jimmy admitted with a vicious smile. "Just when they take your picture." As Cindy turned away, hurt and unable to think of a crushing comeback, Jimmy silently reproached himself. Now why had he said that? What was it about Cindy that seemed to bring out the worst in him? Sometimes she seemed closer to him than anyone else he knew, but at other times she was like a complete stranger. He sighed unhappily. It was almost like living in an insane soap opera.

As Jimmy brooded Cindy was having similar thoughts about Jimmy. While there were other boys for whom her feelings waxed and waned Jimmy had somehow always remained on her mind, something like (she thought) a nagging headache she couldn't quite get rid of. Usually he was just an intellectual annoyance with an aggravating air of superiority, but there were other times when she felt that he was the only thing that really mattered in her life.

The line moved slowly forward as, one by one, the students had their portraits taken. As each subject took his or her place in front of the camera, striving to strike a suitable pose, various thoughts passed through each their minds.

_Jimmy and Cindy had another fight_, thought Carl. _Why do they always have to fight?_

Click.

_If only Ultra Lord were here to help_, Sheen mused. _Ultra Lord can do anything. Well, him and Jimmy_.

Click.

_When are those two ever going to put it all together?_ thought Libby.

Click.

_Stupid boy genius_, Cindy seethed. _Why can't he just wake up and realize the truth?_

Click.

_Maybe it's my fault we have these problems_, Jimmy thought. _I just wish I knew what was going on._

Click.

At length all the individual and class photographs were taken and the students filed back to their classrooms to continue their classes for the day. As the photographer began packing up his equipment a shadowy figure emerged from the darkness of the stage wings. "You have it?" the figure asked in a muffled voice.

"I have it." The photographer detached a small box from the side of the camera and held it out. As the dark shape reached out a hand for it the photographer pulled it back. "The money?"

Without a word the shadowy form held out a thick wad of bills, which the photographer greedily accepted. He quickly riffled through the bills and, satisfied that the full amount was there, held out the box. The dim shape accepted it and carefully secreted it on its person. "Excellent. My plan goes as…" The figure struggled for a suitable end to the statement. "…planned," the muffled voice completed lamely.

"Just what is your plan? And what does that box do?"

"Is that really important to you?"

The photographer hesitated as he considered it and then shrugged. "No," he replied absently, counting through the large stack of bills in his hands again. "I guess it isn't." As he did so the mysterious figure melted back into the darkness, smiling in satisfaction. Phase One of Neutron's destruction was complete. Phase Two was about to begin.

End of Chapter 1.


	2. Part 2 A Brand New Day

The Neutron Show

by Gary D. Snyder

Chapter 2:

It's not unusual for people, when first waking up, to experience a limited form of amnesia about certain things, such as where they are, what day it is, or their plans for the coming day. When Jimmy awoke the next morning he had such an experience, albeit in a different form and more strongly than usual. He was, so far as he could tell, in his bedroom where he should have been, but it seemed to him that he should be somewhere else. Where exactly he felt he should have been escaped him, and as he dwelt more on the subject he suddenly realized that he could not remember coming home at all the previous day. He could remember taking his class pictures, having the spat with Cindy, and leaving for home, but everything between then and now was a blank. This in itself was unusual, as Jimmy had a photographic memory and could recall with ease virtually anything that had happened to him since before he had been old enough to talk.

His mother's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Jimmy! You'd had better get up or you'll be late for school!"

"Coming!" Jimmy called back. He tossed off his bedcovers, quickly dressed himself, and headed downstairs to the breakfast nook where his parents were already eating.

"Hiya, Jimbo," his father called, looking up briefly from his paper.

"Good morning, Sweetie," his mother said. "Did you want eggs and bacon this morning or just cold cereal?"

"Morning, Dad. Morning, Mom," Jimmy replied as he crossed over to the refrigerator and opened the door. "Nothing for me, thanks. I'm not really hungry this morning. I think I'll just have a glass of orange juice."

His mother rose to her feet, seeming strangely agitated as he reached for the carton of juice. "Oh, wait, Jimmy. Let me get that for you."

"That's okay, Mom. It's only a glass of juice. I think I'm old enough to –" His voiced trailed off as he removed the carton from the refrigerator. The first thing he noticed was that the carton seemed oddly light. The second thing he noticed was that it was warm. As he stood there it occurred to him that the interior of the refrigerator itself was no cooler than the kitchen itself. Puzzled, he shook the juice carton near his ear and heard nothing.

Hi father fidgeted nervously. "Something wrong, Jimmy?"

"This juice carton is empty," Jimmy replied. "And the refrigerator isn't working."

"Oh, that," his mother quickly answered. "I noticed that the refrigerator wasn't working earlier this morning so I poured all the juice down the drain. Can't be too careful about spoilage, you know. In fact," she hurried on as Jimmy turned back to examine the other contents in the refrigerator, "I emptied out all the packages in the refrigerator and freezer."

Jimmy nodded doubtfully. "Why did you leave the packages in the refrigerator if they're all empty?"

"That's really quite easy to explain, Jimmy," his father assured him. "You see…umm…Sugar Booger?"

"Well, dear," his mother said as she seemed to search for an answer, "I left them there to…umm…remember what I needed to replace once we fixed the refrigerator." She smiled brightly. "You see? No mystery at all there."

Jimmy was old enough to realize that an explanation as outlandish as this one could only mean that his parents were hiding something from him. But what? His birthday was still months away and he could think of no other reason his parents would try to deceive him. Deciding that he needed more information he turned his attention back to the juice carton. "And you sealed all the empty packages up again because…why?"

That seemed to leave both of his parents at a loss for words. Before either could say anything, however, the kitchen door burst open and Carl walked in. "Hey, Jimmy," he said. "Ready to go? I think that the bus is running early this morning so we'd better hurry if we're going to catch it."

"Yes, Jimmy," his mother agreed with a look of relief. "You'd better hurry off to school."

"But –" Jimmy started to say.

"No 'buts', young man," his father said in an unusually firm tone of voice. "School is more important that broken refrigerators or mysteriously re-sealed empty packages. Now, if it were about ducks –" He stopped short was Jimmy's mother jabbed him in the ribs with an elbow.

"Have a good day at school, dear," his mother told Jimmy as she half-guided, half-pushed him out the door. "I'm sure that things will be back to normal by the time you get back." Once Jimmy and Carl were outside she quickly closed the door behind them, effectively ending the conversation.

Jimmy stared at the door for a moment without moving. "Now, what was that all about?" he asked.

"What?" Carl asked, leading him away by the arm.

"What just happened in there," Jimmy replied, falling into step with his friend. "If I didn't know better I'd say they were hiding something from me."

"Oh, that," Carl said. "Parents always do that kind of thing. Every time I ask about stuff I don't understand they always say that its perfectly normal Mommy and Daddy stuff and that I'll understand when I'm older."

Jimmy shook his head impatiently. "I'm not talking about mortgages or whether a dress makes Mom look fat or not. I'm talking about –"

"Hey, Carl! Hey, Jimmy!" a voice called out. "Wait up!"

Carl and Jimmy turned to see Sheen running up. "Hey, Sheen," Carl said. "What's up?"

Sheen pulled up, panting. "Check this out," he said breathlessly, pulling out a brightly-colored plastic figure from his backpack. "It's the latest Ultra Lord action figure with patent-pending detachable Deluxe Battle Pack!"

_The one unchanging constant in the Universe_, Jimmy thought_. As long as there's an Ultra Lord there will always be a Sheen_. "That's great, Sheen," he said. "But what makes this battle pack different from the ones on your other Ultra Lord figures?"

"Are you kidding?" Sheen asked in surprise. "This one includes the exclusive nucleonic bi-directional torque administrator!"

Carl examined the plastic toy carefully. "It looks like a screwdriver."

"To the untrained eye, yes. But to a skilled cosmic avenger like Ultra Lord it also functions as a convenient pry bar and back scratcher."

A honking interrupted the three and they looked up to see the school bus waiting patiently at the curb for them. Without further discussion they hurried onto the bus and moved down the aisle, searching for empty seats to occupy. As they did so Jimmy was surprised to hear someone call to him, and even more surprised to see that it was none other than Betty Quinlan sitting alone.

"Hey, Betty," he said clumsily.

"Hi, Jimmy," she smiled. "Would you like to sit by me?"

"By…you?" Jimmy repeated, as though the two words were some equation he was having difficulty solving. "Me? By you? Really? You're not…this isn't a –"

Betty interrupted him by taking him arm and guiding him down onto the seat with her. Although the seat had ample space for the two of them Betty pulled him closer than actually necessary, locking his arm in hers. "I'm glad I had a chance to see you this morning, Jimmy," she said. "There's something I wanted to ask."

Betty's close proximity succeeded in shutting down most of Jimmy's higher brain functions. "Ask away," Jimmy said, his mind now operating completely on autopilot.

"Well," Betty said, the tips of her fingers gently brushing against his, "there's a concert in Retroville Park this evening and I was hoping that maybe you'd be interested in taking me."

"Concert," was all Jimmy said. Somehow the electric current generated by the contact between his and Betty's fingers was shorting out his speech center, keeping him from saying anything else.

"Yes. There's going to be a full moon tonight and it would be just so…romantic." The magnetism holding his eyes on hers was almost palpable. "Don't you think?"

"Romantic," Jimmy replied dreamily.

"I'm so glad." She moved closer to him and her voice become soft and intimate. "I can hardly wait." As she finished speaking the bus arrived at the school and came to a stop. Betty rose to go, giving Jimmy's hand a parting squeeze as she did so, and Jimmy stepped aside to let her exit. He was barely aware of Carl and Sheen as they moved forward.

"Hey, way to go, Jimmy!" Sheen congratulated him, giving him a "thumbs up" gesture. "A genuine date tonight with Betty Quinlan."

"Yeah. You go…uh…boyfriend," Carl added awkwardly.

_A date with Betty Quinlan_, Jimmy thought as he exited the bus_. Who cares about broken refrigerators when you have a date with Betty Quinlan?_ He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he was completely oblivious to the pained look on Cindy Vortex's face as she watched him go.

End of Chapter 2.


	3. Part 3 Oddities

The Neutron Show

by Gary D. Snyder

Chapter 3:

The prospect of his date with Betty that evening would have made the morning seem to drag on forever for Jimmy had he not daydreamed for most of it. He barely heard the questions put to him by Miss Fowl and his answers were far shorter and much less technical than those he usually gave. He was glad when the bell for lunch period finally sounded, partly because he had not eaten anything for breakfast and partly because he wanted to discuss the upcoming evening with Carl and Sheen. Before they reached the lunchroom, however, Nick Dean stopped to talk with him. Nick, much like the rest of the student body, seemed to know all about Jimmy's planned evening with Betty.

"Heard about your date with Quinlan tonight, Neutron," he said. "Nice going."

Jimmy attempted to downplay the news. "Aw, it's nothing, really. Just a concert in the park. No big deal."

"So what've you've got planned for the lady?"

"Well," Jimmy confessed, "that's really about it. Just the concert in the park."

Nick seemed taken aback by this. "You mean, you're just going to take her to the concert, listen to the music, and take her back home? That's it?"

"Well…yeah." Jimmy shifted uncomfortably. "Why?"

Nick shook his head. "Neutron, it's a good thing you ran into me."

"Well, we do all share the same classroom," Sheen pointed out. "The odds of that happening seem pretty good to me."

Nick ignored Sheen's comment. "Look, Neutron, take some advice from the Nickster. If the music was what the lady wanted, she could borrow the CD from the public library. The reason she's going with you is because she wants to be with you. You dig?"

"With you so far," Jimmy answered slowly. "I think."

"It means that you're the main attraction," Nick explained patiently. "You're going to be what determines whether she has a good time. That means making conversation, paying her some attention and a some sincere compliments, and throwing in a few extras to let her know you think that she's special. You follow?"

Jimmy nodded. Nick was actually making sense. "So maybe I should bring her some flowers when I pick her up, and maybe take her to the Candy Bar afterwards for some conversation and a bite to eat?"

"Now you're talking."

"And maybe…umm…you know…kiss her when I take her back home?" Jimmy's face reddened at the thought.

Nick shrugged. "Depends on how things go. Just don't try anything she doesn't feel comfortable about."

"But…but how will I know if she feels comfortable about it?" Jimmy looked worried.

"Trust me. You'll know. She'll make sure that you know."

Jimmy sighed, still looking worried. "I just don't want to offend her."

Nick smiled. "No girl is going to be offended by an honest mistake. In fact, I think they like someone who's willing to learn from them than someone who never messes up sometimes." He straightened and turned to go. "Well, good luck with your date tonight."

"Thanks, Nick," Jimmy called as Nick walked off.

"Boy, that Nick really is a pretty good guy," Carl commented as they entered the lunchroom and took their place in line.

"Yeah, he really has it going on with _las señoritas_," Sheen observed. "I think even I might be able to learn a thing or two from him."

As the three stood in line, waiting to be served, Jimmy had a chance to observe the other students in the lunchroom. After a few minutes he nudged Carl. "Hey, Carl, take a look at that."

"At what?"

Jimmy pointed ahead. 'At the students up at the cash register. Notice anything weird?"

Carl looked and shook his head. "Nope."

"Keep watching."

Carl watched and shook his head again. "All I see is students paying for their lunches."

"Yeah, so do I. But look at how they're paying for them. Everybody is handing the cashier exactly two dollars."

"That's what lunch costs here," pointed out Sheen, who had been listening to the conversation.

"I know. But you'd expect someone to sometimes pay with coins, or maybe give the cashier a five- or ten-dollar bill and get change, or something. But every one of them is handing her two one-dollar bills." Jimmy looked baffled. "And another thing…"

"There's more?" Carl asked in amazement.

"Yes. Listen to the cash drawer when it opens and closes."

All three listened as the next student paid for his lunch. "I didn't hear anything," Carl said. "Just the drawer being opened and closed again."

"Exactly," Jimmy said. "No sound of change jingling in the drawer. It's not natural."

"And cafeteria food is?" Sheen quipped.

Jimmy refused to be sidetracked. "Save my place, guys," he said as he headed towards the cash register. "I've got to check something out."

"Sorry, but no cuts," the cashier said as he came up to her.

"I'm not cutting in," Jimmy said, proffering a five-dollar bill. "I was just wondering if I could get some ones. My friend forgot his lunch money today and I wanted to loan him a couple dollars."

"I suppose so." The cashier accepted the note and made change from the cash drawer. She smiled. "Five dollars change."

"Thanks much," Jimmy replied with a smile and headed back to where Carl and Sheen were waiting. "I was right," he said. "There's no change at all in the cash drawer. The only money in there is a lot of one dollar bills…except for the five dollar bill I just gave her."

Sheen looked a little nervous but Jimmy was too preoccupied to notice it. "So what exactly is your point, Jimmy?" he asked.

"I don't know. It's just that this is the second strange thing that's happened today." He frowned. "Okay, maybe it can all be explained. But I keep thinking that something weird is going on. I just can't figure out what."

"Maybe it's just the first time you noticed these things, " Carl suggested. "I mean, there are a lot of things that I never noticed before but that were always there. Like, did you know that the "O" in "OF" on the back of pennies is smaller than the other letters?"

Jimmy looked unconvinced. "Maybe you're right," he admitted. "But I still think –"

"Hey, the line is moving again," said Sheen, nudging Jimmy. "We can talk about this later. Right now I want to get something to eat and find out what exactly your plans are for this evening."

The reminder of his date with Betty was enough to divert Jimmy's attention from the odd events he had experienced that day, especially as there were a number of details suggested by Nick that he had to work out. He spent most of the remainder of his lunch hour discussing with Carl and Sheen his ideas for the evening and considering their opinions on the type of flowers to bring, reasonable dessert options following the concert, and possible topics of conversation. Two topics immediately suggested by Carl and Sheen and just as quickly discarded by Jimmy were Ultra Lord and llamas, but aside from that Jimmy considered the time well spent. When the bell rang to signal the end of the lunch period Jimmy had the details for the evening worked out.

"It sounds like you're going to have a blast this evening, Jimmy," Sheen said as they headed back to Miss Fowl's classroom.

"Yeah, it does," agreed Carl.

"I hope so," said Jimmy. "I have to admit I'm pretty nervous about it." He paused and said, "Maybe you and Libby could come and make it a double date, Sheen," he suggested. "I think I'd feel a little less nervous if you two were there as well."

Sheen shook is head emphatically. "No way, Jimmy. This is your night to solo. Besides, you know the old saying that two's company and three's a crowd."

"There would be four of you," Carl pointed out.

"Oh, yeah," Sheen said. "I wonder what the saying is for four people on a date."

Carl thought about it. "That they should go bowling?" he offered as they reached the classroom.

"I don't think so, Carl," Sheen replied as they entered. "I've suggested bowling to Libby before, and to tell you the truth –" He stopped dead as he, Jimmy, and Carl froze and stared at the blackboard at the front of the room. Miss Fowl and the rest of the class was also staring in mute amazement at the message written in large chalk letters:

THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE

End of Chapter 3.


	4. Part 4 Say, What Is Truth?

The Neutron Show

by Gary D. Snyder

Chapter 4:

As the rest of the class and Miss Fowl talked quietly amongst themselves Jimmy silently read the words on the blackboard again_. The truth is out there? What truth? And out where?_ he wondered. There was no obvious connection between the cryptic message and the other odd events that he had already witnessed this day, but he had a sudden and irrational belief that this message was intended for him and somehow vitally important for him to understand. Try as he might, however, he could not make sense of the words or what they might be trying to tell him.

"Jimmy!"

He started at the sound of his name. "Yes, Miss Fowl?"

"Do you have anything to say about this?" his teacher asked, pointing to the message.

"Uh…no, ma'am. Why do you ask?"

"You were staring at it so hard. It looked as though you might know something about it."

"Well, no," Jimmy admitted. "Actually I was just trying to figure out why someone would want to leave something like this on the blackboard." He looked pensive as a new thought came to him. "Although it occurs to me that this might be some teaching technique you devised to get us curious about a new topic you intend to cover. Maybe the nature of truth as defined by the Socratic or Platonic schools of philosophy?"

Miss Fowl looked intrigued. "Interesting idea," she said. "Totally wrong…but interesting nonetheless." She scribbled something in her teaching journal. "Thank you, Jimmy. I was wondering how to introduce some philosophic topics into this year's curriculum. Thanks to you, your fellow students have some fascinating and excru-u-uciatingly time-consuming assignments to look forward to."

The other students groaned. "Nice going, Spew-tron," Cindy commented in a low aside. "As if we didn't have enough schoolwork to do already. No matter how messed up things are you always find a way to take it to another level, don't you?"

"Sorry," Jimmy mumbled as Miss Fowl erased the enigmatic message from the board and he took his seat. Once the mysterious words were gone class resumed its normal afternoon routine. For the rest of the day Jimmy did his best to concentrate on the lessons, but found his mind invariably returning to the various unusual events of the day. The odd situations in his kitchen, in the lunchroom, and now in his classroom seemed like pieces of a puzzle that were mocking him because he couldn't put them together.

At length the bell rang to signal the end of the school day and the students streamed from the classroom. Jimmy, deep in thought, trailed along behind them, hardly aware of Carl and Sheen walking beside him.

"Well, this is it," Sheen finally said when Jimmy said nothing.

"Is what?" Jimmy asked.

"Your date with Betty," Carl replied.

"What?" Jimmy had almost forgotten about that. "Leaping leptons! You're right!" He looked at his watch. "I have to get those flowers and get ready for the concert. Let's see, it's just after 3 PM now, so I have about 4 hours before it starts. Will that be enough time? Maybe I should use my quantum replay device to give me a couple extra hours. Or I could –"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Sheen cried, stopping Jimmy in mid-rave. "Just take it easy there, Jimmy. People have prepared for dates before and survived the ordeal."

This aroused Carl's curiosity. "Anyone we know?"

"That's not the point. Look, Jimmy, you have plenty of time. Right? Nick told you what to do. Right? And you have us to help you. Right? So what's the big?"

Jimmy took a deep breath. "You're right. I guess I'm panicking about nothing."

Sheen patted Jimmy on the back. "That's my boy. Okay, Carl, you get over to the flower shop, pick up those flowers, and bring them back to Jimmy's house while I go over to the Candy Bar and reserve a booth for Jimmy and Betty. Jimmy, you go home and factor some 128-bit numbers into their composite primes or do whatever it is you usually do to relax."

Jimmy nodded. "Thanks, I'll do that. I –" He suddenly looked suspiciously at Sheen. "Wait a minute, Sheen! What's going on here?"

"Yeah, Sheen," Carl agreed. "You thought I wouldn't notice either, did you?"

Jimmy stared at Carl in surprise. "What? You caught that, too?"

"What are you talking about?" Sheen asked, shifting about nervously.

Carl pointed an accusing finger. "We're talking about you getting to go to the Candy Bar while I have to go to the flower shop, that's what!"

"No, Carl," Jimmy said. "I'm talking about Sheen talking about factoring numbers into their composite primes." He looked suspiciously at Sheen. "Since when do you know about that sort of thing?"

Sheen looked relieved. "That? It was on the Ultra Lord show the other evening. Ultra Lord needed to break into Robofiend's database to uncover his latest nefarious scheme, and this computer guy told him that he'd have to factor some 128-bit number into its composite primes which only a super-genius could hope to do in time. So I just thought that maybe that was something you did. I mean, you can do anything."

Suspicion faded from Jimmy's mind. "Oh…okay. I guess that makes sense." _At least as much as the other Ultra Lord episodes_, he added to himself.

"It still doesn't explain why I have to go to the flower shop instead of the Candy Bar," Carl complained.

Jimmy began walking home, leaving Sheen and Carl to argue amongst themselves. He preferred to walk rather than ride the bus, as he had yet another thing to think about and needed time alone to do it. Why had he reacted as he had to what Sheen had said to him? He had known Sheen almost as long as he had known Carl, and yet had actually suspected some sinister meaning in a casual remark. Maybe it wasn't the world that was odd. Perhaps he was becoming paranoid and delusional.

That thought worried Jimmy considerably. He had read that people with exceptional intellects often walked a fine line between genius and insanity, and that many had fallen into the depths of madness. Was he going insane? Were the things that had troubled him only the products of his disintegrating hold on reality? Was that the truth?

_The truth is out there._ The sudden thought comforted him. Whatever else might have been his imagination the message, at least, had been real. Miss Fowl and the others in his class had seen it and Miss Fowl had discussed it with him. And if that odd message had been real then it was quite likely that everything else he had noticed had also been real. What they meant was, for the moment, beyond him, but in time he felt sure he would understand. Until then he could put them out of his mind and concentrate on his date with Betty.

He arrived at that conclusion about the same time that he arrived home, and he spent the next few hours carefully preparing for the evening. Carl arrived with the flowers (a bouquet of pink roses and baby's breath) between his second and third showers and Sheen made a momentary appearance to confirm the reservations at the Candy Bar while Jimmy was deliberating on his choice of attire. He had not thought to ask about whether to wear casual or formal attire for the concert, so on the advice on his mother he compromised by wearing his best blue suit with a turtleneck pullover in place of a shirt and tie. The rest of the time he spent checking his watch, imagining all the worst-case scenarios that might happen during his evening with Betty, and pacing the floor. While doing so he convinced himself Einstein's assertion that time was relative was indeed true, as he was absolutely convinced that the last thirty minutes of his wait was at least three hours long.

At length the time to leave arrived and he set out for Betty's house. The walk there was about four blocks, and he was thankful for the chance to work some of the nervous energy out of his system. At the door he paused to take a deep breath and straighten his jacket before ringing the doorbell. Although the door opened after just a few seconds it seemed much longer to his feverish mind.

It was good that Jimmy had taken a deep breath, because the sight of Betty made him forget to breathe for at least a minute. Her outfit of burgundy velvet and white satin seemed to be more suited for a movie star than a grade school student, and her earrings and necklace were more elegant than most of the jewelry Jimmy's mother owned. What caught and held his attention, however, were her welcoming gaze and warmly inviting smile.

"Hello, Jimmy," she said in a voice that seemed almost musical. "You're right on time."

Jimmy could speak a number of lanuages, but all he was able to get out was, "Hi."

She gave the forgotten bouquet in his hand an admiring look. "Are those for me?"

Jimmy nodded dumbly and handed her the flowers, and she thanked him with a gently kiss on the cheek, causing him to blush and lose control of his voice again for the several minutes she took to place the flowers in water. Having done that she turned and gave Jimmy another smile. "Are we ready to go?"

Jimmy nodded dumbly. "Go," he squeaked. With a major effort of will he regained his normal speaking voice and went on, "We should get there just as the concert starts. I'm really looking forward to this."

Betty's smiled widened. "So am I," she replied.

With her right arm linked in Jimmy's left they turned and headed down the street to the park as the last rays of the setting sun turned their surroundings into liquid gold. Although Jimmy didn't consciously realize it at the time it was the most perfect late afternoon he had ever seen. Almost too perfect, if such a thing could be.

End of Chapter 4.


	5. Part 5 Lunacy!

The Neutron Show

by Gary D. Snyder

Chapter 5:

The sun had just disappeared below the horizon when Jimmy and Betty arrived at Retroville Park, but the full moon high above afforded them plenty of light to see. Where a few minutes before the park had been bathed in golden luminescence it was now flooded in a white glow that washed over everything like liquid silver. Because this was a moonlight concert the only artificial lights allowed were on the musicians' music stands, and these small lights glowed in the orchestra pit like pale yellow fireflies as the low sounds of instruments being tuned floated through the early evening air.

A large number of people had turned out for the concert but the two young people were able to find a comfortable and reasonably private spot apart from most of the crowd. While Betty remained there to reserve their place Jimmy headed to the concession stand to obtain a lounging blanket and a program for the concert. To his surprise Cindy was at the stand, idly leafing through a program. Her expression on seeing him was oddly impassive, as though he were a stranger she was just meeting.

"Hi, Cindy," he greeted her.

She gave him a civil if somewhat cool reply. "No net, Jimmy?"

"Huh?"

"The way Betty Quinlan's been throwing herself at you I'm surprised you don't have a net in case you miss. Aren't you worried about a crash?"

Jimmy felt like a man unjustly accused of a crime and went on the defensive. "It's just a date, Vortex," he said, gesturing to the concessionaire that he wanted a blanket and concert program. "And why am I even bothering to justify myself to you? It's not like it's any of your business what I do."

"Who said I cared what you did?" she snapped.

"You sure act like you do!" Jimmy answered hotly.

"And you sure act like it matters how I act," Cindy shot back, "but you don't see me making a big deal of it."

With a great effort Jimmy succeeded in mastering his rising anger. He counted to ten in several languages before speaking. "Look, Cindy," he said, trying to be reasonable. "We both just want to have a pleasant evening. I don't want to fight with you. Can't we just act like friends for once?"

In reply Cindy simply gave him a look that Jimmy couldn't quite decipher before turning and walking away in silence. With a sigh of resignation Jimmy paid for his blanket and program and returned to where Betty was patiently waiting. They had barely finished spreading the blanket on the grass and settling down on it before the strains of Debussy's _Claire de Lune_ drifted towards them. A quick check of the evening's eclectic program showed Jimmy that all the pieces had some lunar connection to them and ranged from such classical pieces as Beethoven's _Moonlight Sonata_ to relatively modern compositions like Glenn Miller's _Moonlight Seranade_.

As the music filled the air Betty lay back with a sigh and closed her eyes. Somewhat awkwardly Jimmy lay back beside her, trying to concentrate on the music, the moon shining down on them, and anything else he could concentrate on except just how close he was to Betty. "This is so romantic," she whispered.

"Yeah," was all Jimmy could say, terrified that any more would ruin the moment and bring their date to a disastrous end.

She opened her eyes and Jimmy could see them sparkling in the silvery light. "The moon looks close enough to touch," she said softly, reaching her hand up. "I wish it could be like this every night."

"That would be nice," Jimmy agreed, "Unfortunately the full moon only occurs when it's orbit around the Earth puts it directly opposite from the Sun, so it can only happen roughly once every twenty-nine days." _What in the world am I saying?_ he thought to himself. _This is no time for an astronomy lesson!_ He desperately tried to remember Nick's advice. "I meant…uh…" he stammered, "I meant…uh…that…moonlight becomes you." He had no idea what that meant but Betty seemed to take it as a compliment.

"Really?" she asked with a smile.

"Truly," he replied. "If I could, I'd make it so that there was a full moon every night, instead of just once a month. In fact, I'd…" Without warning he stopped talking and stared at the moon high overhead.

"Go on," Betty urged. "What would you do?"

Jimmy didn't answer and got slowly to his feet, staring first at the moon and then at the faint glow to the west where the sun had set not long ago. "Opposite the sun," he murmured. "Only opposite the sun."

"What's the matter, Jimmy?" Betty asked, looking and sounding concerned. As Jimmy looked at her it seemed to him that she wasn't just concerned. She seemed frightened about something.

"The moon," he replied, carefully watching her face. "The full moon is always opposite the sun. That's why the entire surface we can see is lit up. That means that it should rise just about the time the sun sets, give or take an hour or so for seasonal differences. But there is no way – _no way_ – that it should be directly overhead right after the sun has set."

As he spoke he could see that she was becoming more and more nervous. "I don't understand," she faltered. "What difference does it make?" Her voice grew a little stronger and more pleading. "Does it really matter? Don't you care that we're here together? Shouldn't that be all that really matters to you?"

"What matters to me," Jimmy said, "is the truth. First there was the refrigerator this morning. Mom's explanation made no sense, but just maybe it was true. Then there were the events in the cafeteria. Those were unlikely, but possible. Then there was the strange message on the blackboard. All right, that could have been some innocent prank that had nothing to do with me. But the moon?" He pointed to it and shook his head savagely. "That isn't some statistical oddity. That's a violation of inviolable natural law! It can't happen!"

"I don't understand," Betty repeated.

"You don't have to. It's just proves that something is going on. I'm sorry that you…" Jimmy's voice trailed off. "You," he repeated softly.

"Me?"

"You were never really interested in me before. Not until today...until right after all these strange things started to happen. Just as if you were some distraction to keep me from thinking about what was going on. And it worked. It was the most unusual thing of all and I didn't even see it."

"Jimmy…" Betty began.

Jimmy looked around in a daze, not seeing or hearing anything. The moon, Betty, the bizarre occurrences…he couldn't just ignore or rationalize them anymore. Either he was insane, or he was no longer in the world he had known. In either case, he was lost, not sure where to turn or what to believe. He began to stagger blindly away, heedless of Betty's frantic calls behind him, and then to run.

How far or long he ran he didn't know. He simply raced through the brightly moonlit streets until he finally collapsed from sheer exhaustion and lay panting where he fell, unable and unwilling to think. When his heartbeat and breathing finally returned back to normal, however, he was forced to confront his situation once again.

What was happening to him?

Who or what was behind it?

And why?

He sat up and began to consider the possibilities. One possibility was that he really was losing his mind, and that everything he had witnessed had been figments of his imagination. But if he were insane, should he be able to recognize it? Could a madman ever claim that he were mad and be certain? After a few moments' thought he decided that as long as he could consider that possibility that he might be insane he was, in fact, still sane. In any case, there wasn't much he could do about it even if he were already insane.

All right then, assuming he was sane, what would explain what was happening? Any number of theories could explain the odd behavior and events he had experienced that day, but the full moon was another matter. Either someone had found a way to circumvent the laws of physics, or was able to create very elaborate illusions.

Almost immediately he rejected the first possibility. Contrary to what Cindy might believe, Jimmy's ego was not large enough to consider that an entity powerful enough to affect the sun and/or mood would take any interest in Jimmy Neutron. And they certainly couldn't be stupid enough to make the sort of mistakes (if that's what they were) that Jimmy had seen.

The second possibility was much more likely, but it left Jimmy nearly as clueless as before. The Brains were capable of creating very real illusions, but the level of detail and accuracy he had seen went far beyond anything he had seen them manifest so far. That left someone or something else who had a grudge against him – but who? Well, there was Professor Calamitous, Dr. Drakken, the Yolkians…

He stopped himself and took a deep breath. He was a scientist and if he was to get to the bottom of this then he would have to approach the problem scientifically. He began searching in his pockets for something to systematically list all the possibilities and supporting evidence and found the concert program in one pocket and a ballpoint pen in another. He prepared to write the facts as he knew them on the back of the program but stopped, staring in disbelief, before putting down a single letter. Lettered neatly across the back of the program were the words:

ALL LIES LEAD TO THE TRUTH.

End of Chapter 5.

Author's Notes:

As some readers have noted, the reference "THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE" came from the (usual) opening sequence of the excellent TV series "The X Files", as did the mysterious message in this chapter. There will be one more, and true afficianados might be able to guess what that message will be, although possibly not its context or the part it will play. I'm impressed by the guesses people have made concerning the direction this story will take, but thus far no one has gotten it quite right. Hopefully that means that I'm not being too obvious or predictable…at least not yet.


	6. Part 6 Reading Between the Lies

The Neutron Show

by Gary D. Snyder

Chapter 6:

The message had an astonishing effect on Jimmy. Where moments before he had been confused and riddled with doubt he was now filled with a surprising calm. He was certain that this message was meant specifically for him, and he was just as certain that it proved the previous message had also been for him. Someone in this twisted reality was attempting to assure him that the truth could be found if only he knew where to look. The thought that he was not alone was immeasurable comforting to him.

He carefully pocketed the program and began walking slowly back to his house. _The truth is out there_, he thought, _and all lies lead to the truth._ In his mind there was only one way to read the two messages. To find the truth, he would have to unravel the deceptions. The only way out would be to go deeper in. By the time he arrived back home he had decided that the first order of business would be to identify his mysterious ally.

"Back so soon?" his mother called as he entered the front door.

"Yes, Mom," he called back as he climbed the stairs to his room.

"How was the concert, Jimmy?" he heard his father ask.

Jimmy paused and touched the folded program in his pocket thoughtfully as he replied. "I'd say the last note was exceptional."

Before turning in he showed the message to Goddard in an attempt to identify the writer, but despite handwriting comparisons and various meticulous scans for biochemical clues Goddard was unable to find any conclusive information regarding who had written the message. Jimmy's handling of the program had either obliterated any physical evidence, or the author was taking precautions against leaving any clues. The second possibility puzzled Jimmy. If someone was trying to communicate with him, why were they being so secretive? As he pondered this question he drifted off to sleep without even realizing it.

He woke the next morning from a dream of having been lost in a gigantic labyrinth of mirrors. As he sought to find his way through he felt sure that he was being watched by shadowy shapes behind the glass walls and was further conscious of someone moving ahead of him staying just out of sight. At last, just as he was about to round the last twist in the maze and discover who the mysterious figure ahead of him was, his alarm went off and startled him awake. Although tt had only been a dream but Jimmy was still sorry he had not been able to learn the identity of who had been eluding him in the maze and ruefully shut of the alarm. "I've got to start setting this thing to go off five minutes later," he muttered as he headed to the bathroom.

When he went downstairs his parents were having breakfast in the breakfast nook, just as they had the day before. "Good morning, dear," his mother said as he entered the kitchen. "What would you like for breakfast this morning?"

"Just a glass of juice, Mom," Jimmy replied as he opened the refrigerator. He was not especially surprised by the rush of cool air that tumbled over him as the door swung open, or by the full carton of juice that waited for him inside. _Mistake corrected_, he noted to himself. Seeing that his parents were having eggs, bacon, and toast he scanned the kitchen for signs of soiled cooking utensils and found none. "I guess you've already washed the pots and pans," he commented, pouring juice into a glass.

His mother looked surprised and then smiled. "Well, yes," she answered as his father looked nervous and bit his lower lip. "But if you want something I can fix something up."

Jimmy shook his head as he gulped juice from his glass. "No thanks. I was just curious." As he crossed the floor to put the empty glass into the kitchen sink he surreptitiously ran his hand over the surface of the range. As he had half-expected it would be the range was cold and showed no signs whatsoever of recent use. Whatever was going on his parents – if that's who they were – were part of it. He returned the juice carton to the refrigerator, shouldered his backpack and headed to the door. "I'll see you after school."

"Okay, Sweetie. Have a good day," his mother called.

"And if anything mysterious should happen, just ignore it, Son," his father added. "After all, you can't -" He let out a pained grunt as Judy Neutron elbowed her husband in the midsection.

Jimmy ignored it. "Yeah, okay, thanks, Dad," he said as he headed out the door and down the steps. "I'll keep it in mind." He walked towards the street and was met by Carl coming from his own house.

"Hey, Jimmy," Carl called.

_Could Carl be the person trying to contact me?_ Jimmy wondered. There was only one way to find out. "Hey, Carl," he replied as they walked towards school. "You look like you have something on your mind today."

"I do?" Carl asked with a bewildered look.

"Yes. Was there something you wanted to tell me?"

Carl looked uncomfortable and began wringing his hands. "Uh…well…I'm not sure I should…"

"It's okay, Carl," Jimmy reassured him. "Anything you want to tell me is all right."

"Well, okay." Carl looked around him and then leaned forward, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "I don't mean anything bad, but…do you think that your mom might be divorced by the time I'm eighteen?" Seeing Jimmy's incredulous expression he hastened to add, "Not that I want your parents to break up, but, you know, if there's a chance…"

Jimmy cut him short. "That's what you wanted to tell me?"

"Well…that and I'm happy that you and Cindy aren't fighting as much anymore."

"Cindy?" Jimmy repeated. It was true that Cindy had been near the scene of both messages. Was it possible that she was trying to contact him? If so, why hadn't she just said something to him when he had seen her at the concert? Or slipped him a less cryptic message?

Sheen's strident voice from behind interrupted his thought. "Hey, guys!" he called, hurrying up. "Wait up!"

Carl and Jimmy halted patiently, waiting for Sheen to catch up. "Hi, Sheen," Carl said.

"Hi, Carl," Sheen panted. "Hey, Jimmy. There's something I wanted to ask you."

Jimmy's attention was immediately aroused. "Yes? What is it?"

In response Sheen held forth one of his Ultra Lord figures. "Do you think that Ultra Lord's mightanium battle armor makes his butt look big?"

Jimmy let out a snort of disgust and resumed walking. "He's a plastic doll, Sheen –"

"He's an action figure!" Sheen shrieked. "And even if he were a doll, he'd still care about his appearance." He carefully examined the plastic figure from all angles.

"He looks fine, Sheen," Carl soothed.

Sheen breathed a sigh of relief and replaced the toy in his backpack. "I guess you're right, Carl. Maybe I'm being silly about this, but he has to look just right. After all, Ultra Lord can do anything. Well, him and Jimmy."

As the three approached the Lindbergh Elementary School building Jimmy spotted Libby approaching from another direction. Usually, when she walked to school, she walked with Cindy but today she was alone. On a hunch that this might be significant Jimmy detached himself from Carl and Sheen and intercepted her. "Hi, Libby."

"Hey, Jimmy. What's shaking?" As was her habit she was wearing headphones and half-dancing as she listened to her music collection.

"I was wondering if there was something you wanted to tell me."

"Just that this new album by Counting Pumpkins is their all-time best." She offered the headphones to Jimmy. "Want to listen?"

Jimmy shook his head in polite refusal. "No thanks. Where's Cindy?"

"You looking for her?" Libby gave him a curious look.

"Well, sort of."

Libby shook her head. "Don't know. Haven't seen her since yesterday. Man, when are you two ever going to put it all together?" She wandered towards the school entrance, humming along to the music. Defeated, Jimmy rejoined Sheen and Carl and continued towards Miss Fowl's classroom.

"What was that all about, Jimmy?" Sheen asked.

"Nothing important," was Jimmy's evasive answer. As he slipped behind his desk he couldn't help noticing that Cindy's desk, next to him, was empty. That was unusual, as Cindy usually arrived early and took great pride in her near-perfect attendance record. As the other students filed in and took their places and Cindy failed to appear he began to worry. _She might be home sick_, he thought, _or she could have been delayed somehow._ But as the school bell rang and Cindy's desk remained empty he became increasingly uneasy. As Miss Fowl cleared her throat to make an announcement he had the irrational belief that it would be bad news regarding Cindy.

"Class," Miss Fowl began in a somber voice, "I'm afraid that I have bad news. We've been informed that Cindy Vortex is missing." As a collective gasp and murmur passed through the classroom Miss Fowl paused and resumed when the class was once again silent. "Her parents and the police ask that anyone who may have seen her after school yesterday to contact them immediately. That is all."

As the murmuring again resumed Jimmy's thoughts boiled. He had seen Cindy last night at the concert. It was too much to believe that her disappearance just when he needed to speak with her was a mere coincidence. More than ever he was convinced that it had been Cindy who had left the messages for him and he was sure that her sudden disappearance had to do with her trying to contact him. He still had no idea what was going on, who was behind it all, or why.

But for Cindy's sake he was determined to find out.

End of Chapter 6.


	7. Part 7 Smoke and Mirrors

The Neutron Show

by Gary D. Snyder

Chapter 7:

As Jimmy was deciding his best course of action and next step to take two figures in darkened room were watching him closely on a large television monitor. Around the walls were similar monitors showing various scenes around Retroville, including interior and exterior views of the Neutron house, Lindbergh Elementary, the Candy Bar, and other places Jimmy was wont to frequent. One of the dim figures, a haggard middle-aged man, took a long drag on a half-consumed cigarette and let the smoke out just as slowly through his nostrils. His companion coughed uneasily and fanned the air.

"Do you have to do that?"

The cigarette-smoking man didn't even turn. "Yes."

"Well, it's a filthy habit. And a health risk."

The man seemed as impassive as ever as he took another puff from his cigarette. "No one lives forever."

"Your philosophy?" The person at his side seemed surprised at the indifferent response.

The trace of a smile seemed to cross the man's face. "Official policy."

That made the second figure shift uncomfortably and quickly change the topic. "What's the scenario status?"

The man stubbed out his cigarette, pulled another from a pack, and snapped open a lighter to light it. His features, though unexceptional, seemed particularly sinister in the harsh yellow light cast by the small flame. After allowing himself a couple leisurely puffs of the fresh smoke he leaned back and said simply, "Within projected parameters."

"Including Vortex's sudden disappearance?"

For the first time the man showed some faint trace of emotion, seeming offended by the remark. "It was your idea to use the engrams gathered by the encephalic scanners, not mine. I warned you that they would introduce unknown and hence uncontrollable factors into the program. You should have left the players' original parameters alone."

"And have them nearly ruin things like Neutron's parents and Betty Quinlan nearly did?"

"They were acting per their instructions. Changing the base parameters is dangerous. It makes the system non-deterministic and potentially unstable."

This drew a derisive snort from his companion. "These five were the closest to Neutron. They had to be as realistic as possible for the plan to work. Has your team been able to isolate the dominant factors?"

The cigarette-smoking man pulled a sheaf of papers from the pocket of his suit and spread them out. "The strongest influences would be from the thoughts closest to the time of the scan. Comparisons of the original and modified directives –" -another puff from the cigarette – "- have been able to identify the general perturbing factors."

"And those are?"

"Subject Wheezer was primarily concerned with Subject Neutron and Subject Vortex always fighting. Subject Folfax was more concerned with the two coming to some kind of resolution. Subject Estevez seemed convinced of the invincibility and infallibility of Subject Neutron and –" He paused to re-read the printout and take another drag. "- someone named Ultra Lord." He re-read the page and shook his head. "This Ultra Lord seems to be the dominant influence on Subject Estevez. Is there another test subject that should have been researched and incorporated into the scenario?"

"Ultra Lord is a TV character. Don't you watch television?"

The man shook his head. "Waste of time, nowadays. The last decent program I personally cared about was one about two FBI agents who –"

"This isn't the time or place for that. What about Subject Vor- I mean, Cindy? Why did she just vanish?"

The man picked up the last sheet and leaned back, considering the contents thoughtfully as he continued to smoke. "Subject Vortex had the highest concentration of thoughts directly regarding Subject Neutron."

"She despised him. She hated his mental superiority and wanted him to fail."

"That's not how I read this. I'd interpret it as frustration rather than hatred."

The man's companion gave him a sharp look. "Frustration? What frustration? About what?"

"Any number of things. We're dealing with a pre-teen girl who's trying to reconcile the hopes and dreams of childhood with the realities of adulthood. If anything, I'd say that she's in love with him and feels that her love is unrequited, leading to feelings of frustration and anger."

"Preposterous! She couldn't possibly be in love with that sanctimonious brain-bag."

"He's loyal, resourceful, brave, and intelligent - all the classic traits of the romantic hero. Why shouldn't she be in love with him?" He took a deep drag on the cigarette while he waited for the person next to him to respond.

"He's also a sawed-off runt," the figure said at last.

"That doesn't mean as much as you might think," the man replied. "I'd guess that you'd be surprised at the number of women who have taken an interest in me over the years."

His companion seemed unhappy at the turn the conversation had taken. "Can we get on with the analysis?"

"You're writing the checks." The man scanned the page again. "Her predominant concern for Jimmy was for him to know the truth."

That drew a sigh of satisfaction from the second figure. "Excellent."

"Maybe not."

"What do you mean? The success of this plan hinges on Neutron finding out that what's happening is a fraud. At the right time, of course."

The man ground out his second cigarette and drew out a third, crushing the empty pack and discarding it into a waste can. "Truth is a fleeting and perilous concept. I've made a career of dealing with people looking for the truth and making sure that they found what was expedient for them to find. And I was good at it. That's why you contacted me."

"What's your point?"

"The girl wanted Jimmy to know the truth. This has been incorporated into the current scenario and we can't change that without completely shutting it down. But what the truth is to our Vortex is unknown. It might just be her feelings for Neutron. It might be the truth she's supposed to represent. Or…"

"Or…?" The tone of the voice sounded unhappy.

The man sighed, tapping the unlit cigarette on the table before putting it into his mouth. "Or it might be the truth. The whole truth."

"Is that possible?" The man's companion gave him a worried look.

"The whole scenario was programmed into each subject. It was there for her to access if there was a reason to do so. Subject Vortex's thoughts could have given her a reason to do so."

"If that 's so, why didn't she just tell Neutron?"

"It would create a conflict with her primary programming. She would have to let him know some other way." The man paused to light his cigarette and let the silence make his next comment all the more effective. "Like leaving written messages."

"You think…you think those messages Neutron found were meant to sabotage the plan?"

"Possibly. Or they may have been a way to further the plan. They would have been consistent with the scenario. It comes down to what Subject Vortex really wanted. If she really despised Jimmy, your plan is intact. But if I'm right about how she feels, there's a good chance that Cindy is trying to destroy it."

The tone of the cigarette-smoking man's last sentence caused his companion to carefully consider his response. "And you're certain that you're right?"

"I am."

"Why?" The question still contained a trace of doubt.

"Her disappearance. It's inconsistent with the scenario. She would be aware of the scenario and realize that we would take steps to remove her when we figured out what she was up to. She realizes that Neutron is still not fully aware of what's going on and knows that she has to be free to warn him. She understands that the next time she contacts Neutron will be her last chance."

The argument was convincing. "What could he do if he did find out?"

The man puffed on his cigarette as he considered the possibilities. "The scenario was designed to allow him to do anything he could normally do to prevent him from becoming suspicious too soon. If he realized what the situation was he could try to disrupt the system."

"How likely is that?"

"Not very. The system has enough resources to handle a hundred Retrovilles. Although…" The man actually smiled for the first time. This, more than anything else, unnerved the person next to him. "Did you ever hear the anecdote about the monkey in the cage?"

"No." _What in the world did this have to do with anything?_

"The story goes that scientists put a monkey in a cage with four possible ways to escape to see which one the monkey would discover. The monkey found a fifth way." The man leaned back and took another slow drag on his cigarette. "And they say that a monkey typing long enough would produce the complete works of William Shakespeare. If we were dealing with a monkey I'd say that the system was safe. But we're not." He gave his companion a meaningful look. "We're dealing with Jimmy Neutron."

"So what do you suggest?"

The man leaned forward again. "I think," he said slowly, "that it's about time for Jimmy Neutron to meet his maker." He ground out his last cigarette and left the room, leaving the second figure behind in the darkness and coughing slightly from the smoke.

End of Chapter 7.

Author's Notes:

Readers have probably noticed by now that I've done what I could to keep the identity and even the gender of the person behind "the plan" secret. Some people may already have guessed who it is, although I'm hoping that it will be both a surprise and yet fairly obvious when I divulge the identity towards the end of the story.


	8. Part 8 A Voice From On High

The Neutron Show

by Gary D. Snyder

Chapter 8:

As much as Jimmy wanted to act immediately he decided that the best course of action would be to wait until lunch period, when an attempt to slip away from school unnoticed would have the highest probability of success. There was no guarantee that he wasn't being monitored all the time but it made sense to him to wait until there were as few witnesses as possible around to witness his departure. Despite his impatience he took care to participate in the morning subjects in the hopes that it might put whoever might be watching his actions off-guard for when he made his break. When the lunch period bell finally rang Jimmy started out the door with Carl and Sheen as usual, but stopped just a few paces down the hall leading towards the lunchroom.

"Something wrong, Jimmy?" Carl asked.

Jimmy shook his head. "No. I just need to use the restroom before lunch. You two go ahead and save me a place in line. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Okay," said Sheen as he and Carl headed off. "But don't be too long. It's beet stew today."

"Don't you mean 'beef stew'?" Carl asked.

Sheen thought about it. "Man, I hope not," he answered as the two turned the corner. "I've been looking forward to this all week."

When he was sure he was alone Jimmy turned and ran towards the school entrance. Usually the hall monitor would be posted near the doors but today the doors appeared to be unguarded, indicating either that luck was with Jimmy or whoever was orchestrating the strange goings-on had slipped up yet again. He passed through the doors without encountering anyone and began heading towards his lab. Once there and with Goddard's help, he was certain, he would be able to locate Cindy and find out what was going on. He was a block or two from his house when he was startled by a voice that seemed to come from all around him.

"Hello, Jimmy," the voice said.

After all odd occurrences he had experienced since the day before the voice did not surprise or interest Jimmy as much as it might have. He did not answer or miss a step as he continued on his way.

"I know you have a lot of questions. I'm here to give you some answers and guidance."

Jimmy slowed his pace and came to a stop. "Are you God?" he asked.

There was an indulgent chuckle. "No. But I am the creator."

"Of what?"

"Of everything you see. And, in some ways, of you and everyone you've ever known."

Jimmy's voice was defiant. "Prove it!" he challenged.

In response the sky above him began to darken, fading from bright blue to soft purple and finally to a deep black strewn with twinkling points of light. Jimmy watched in awe at the sight, momentarily speechless. Finally he spluttered, "But that's impossible. No one can control the heavens. And even if they could, the magnitudes of some of these stars are too faint to be seen from Earth without some means of visual enhancement."

Gradually the sky lightened again, restoring the familiar mid-day view of Jimmy's neighborhood. "Normally, yes. But you haven't actually been on Earth. In a lot of ways, everything you know isn't real and never has been."

Jimmy thought about this. Finally he asked the most basic question. "Who are your?"

"My name is…Davis." There was a pause. "John A. Davis. I'm the creator of a television show about an exceptional young man who does extraordinary things. You are that young man."

"Then who am I?"

"On this show your name is Jimmy Neutron." There was another pause as the speaker apparently collected his thoughts. "Your real name I'm afraid no one knows. You were orphaned at a very early age and your real parents were never identified. Some friends of mine, Hugh and Judy Neutron, adopted you and that gave me the idea for the ultimate reality television show. It would be a show about a boy who wasn't even aware he was the star of a television show. For a year or so people tuned in out of curiosity but the novelty soon wore off. I realized that if the show were to succeed I would need to change the premise somewhat. It was when your parents and I noticed that you were rather bright for your age that I had my next idea. The show would not just be about Jimmy Neutron, but about the adventures of Jimmy Neutron, boy genius. But for that show to succeed I had to…embellish things a little."

_This is utterly ridiculous_, thought Jimmy. "What do you mean about having to embellish things?"

"Although I wanted the show to be absolutely authentic and spontaneous, it quickly became apparent that some aspects of the show would need to be contrived for people to consider you a genius and the show to survive."

"I don't believe it," Jimmy said. "I've built dozens of working inventions. I've been in space. I've traveled through time. I've met aliens from other worlds. I've –"

"All illusions," the voice interrupted. "Your travels through time and space were holographic simulations and your inventions were little more than fancy toys that needed creative special effects to make them appear functional. Do you have a pencil on you?"

Jimmy checked his pockets. "Yes. Why?"

"Point it at the mailbox on the corner and say, 'Shrink'." When Jimmy hesitated the voice urged, "Go ahead. I just want to make a point."

Feeling silly, Jimmy pointed the pencil and said, "Shrink." No sooner had he said this than a green ray appeared to emanate from the tip of the pencil and strike the mailbox. To Jimmy's utter surprise the mailbox shrank to the size of a matchbox.

"Now say, 'Grow'," the voice instructed.

"Grow," Jimmy said mechanically, too stunned to think. This time a red beam shot forth from the pencil and the mailbox instantly expanded to its normal size. Jimmy stared numbly at the pencil, not sure what to think.

"You see?" said the voice. "All fancy technological tricks. Nothing more."

Jimmy shook his head angrily. "No!" he cried stubbornly. "I don't believe it. Everything was perfectly normal in my life until yesterday when these weird things began to happen. It's all a trick, or something."

The voice was calm and patient. "Weird things have always been happening, Jimmy," it soothed, "because no one can be perfect. It's just that you're growing up and you've only just started noticing all the inconsistencies in this artificial world we've created for you. But the 'weird things' you refer to have been there all along."

"Like what?" Jimmy demanded, sure that the voice was wrong.

"Really, Jimmy," the voice said. "Can't you see them even now?"

"Tell me!" Jimmy shouted.

"Do you really think that it makes sense for you to be able to travel through outer space without a spacesuit or a life support system? Or be able to speak in a vacuum? Or walk on the moon under normal Earth gravity? Have you ever stopped to wonder why the chalkboard in Miss Fowl's room has the same thing on it almost every day, or why the clock in the back of the classroom always shows the same time? Or why Cindy Vortex's Aunt Suzy looks like her mother but has her father's last name? Could someone like Carl really be allergic to infrared light? Or –"

This was more than Jimmy could stand. "Stop it! Stop it!" he cried, dropping to his knees and pressing his hands over his ears in a desperate attempt to shut out the noise.

"You can disbelieve me if you want," the voice said when Jimmy uncovered his ears again. "But deep down I think you're smart enough to know what I'm saying is all true."

Jimmy knelt on the sidewalk, trying to absorb what the voice was telling him. Was it true that his life was really all a fabrication? That nothing he had ever done was real? Were his friends even really his friends? "Who said you could do this to me?" he finally asked in a tight voice. "What gave you the right to do this to me?"

"Those questions were decided in court long ago, Jimmy," the voice answered. "Do you really have anything to be angry about?"

Jimmy got to his feet, his fists balled in anger. "Just that my entire life is a lie!" he raged. "Everything that happened is a figment of someone else's imagination! Nothing about me is real!"

"Come now, Jimmy. Your life has been as real as that of anyone else. Your life has been genuine reactions to circumstance just like that of anyone else. Your friends have really been your friends. Does it matter if the friends and circumstances came from fate, chance, Providence, or the mind of some writer?"

"It matters to me," Jimmy snarled.

"You're not being logical."

"I'm not really a genius, remember?"

"In real life, no. But I've given you something that no one else has ever had and for which millions would give everything they owned. I've given you the chance to truly be the hero of your own life. I've let you rise above the ordinary and be something genuinely extraordinary, not just to yourself but millions around the world. Is that really so bad?"

Jimmy slowly nodded. "It is. If it's all a lie, it is," he whispered in a broken voice.

The voice let out a long, unhappy sigh. "Then I'm going to give you a choice Jimmy. You can stay here,and continue the show, and everything will go on just as it has – inconsistencies and all. But if you're really unhappy, and you really want out, you can go."

Jimmy looked up, disbelieving. "What?"

"I knew that this day might come someday, so I made special preparations if ever it did. You, your parents, and everyone on this show will be moved to a real city of Retroville, identical to this set you've always known, and resume normal lives on the outside. Once there a post-hypnotic command given to them will be activated, making them believe that everything that happened on the show really happened and that they're where they've always been. You were never given that command so you'll remember everything. But you can never be the boy genius again. You'll have to live the rest of your life as a smart, but completely ordinary, person." The voice paused to give this a chance to sink in. "What's your choice?"

Jimmy thought about it. _The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Honor Student?_ he thought. It would be a hard thing to get used to, but at least it would be real. He should, he supposed, tell the unseen speaker that he wanted out immediately and have done with it. There was nothing left for him here and there was no sense staying if he knew it was all just a pretense. But despite this he hesitated, thinking that there was something still missing from this equation. No, not something.

Someone.

Cindy.

End of Chapter 8.

Author's Notes:

John A. Davis' name is used without permission. I could have used another name for "the creator" but thought it would be more fun to use the name Jimmy's real creator as that of his alleged creator in this story, rather than some fictitious name like A. Nonimus, Sue D'Onim, or Norm de Plume. In the unlikely event he ever reads this I hope he gets a chuckle from the idea rather than call his lawyer.


	9. Part 9 Options

The Neutron Show

by Gary D. Snyder

Chapter 9:

Jimmy stood there, not speaking or moving, as he tried to make sense of the confusion of ideas tumbling through his mind. He was Jimmy Neutron, but Jimmy Neutron wasn't real. Jimmy Neutron was the product of someone's imagination and existed only in the fantasy world of some television show. Remaining would preserve the illusion. Leaving would end the lie he had been, but, by implication, it would also end the person he had believed himself to be. Was either choice really better?

And what had Cindy been trying to tell him?

_The truth is out there, _he thought once again_, and all lies lead to the truth._ Was this what she had meant for him to know? That he hadn't been real, and he would discover that for himself if he kept analyzing the deception? Possibly, but somehow he felt that the message wasn't complete and that there was still something else she had to tell him. Something so important, he felt, that she had to hide until she was sure she could reach him without interference. More than ever he was convinced that he had to find her and get the message she had for him.

"Have you decided?" the voice asked.

The voice caused Jimmy to start. He had been so wrapped up in his thoughts that he had completely forgotten about the choice he had been offered and that his unseen creator was awaiting an answer. Still uncertain as to what to do he said the only thing he could.

"I need some time to think about it."

The voice seemed somewhat put out. "Do you really have that much to think about?"

"You're asking me about changing the entire Universe," Jimmy replied. "I'd say that's a lot to think about."

There was a pause while his answer was apparently being considered. "Very well," the voice finally said. "When you've decided, let me know."

Jimmy gave a non-commital grunt and continued on his way home. What the voice had said made him uneasy, as it implied that he was being closely watched and that a meeting with Cindy would be problematic. If someone were really out to stop Cindy from reaching him, or vice-versa, it would be difficult to contact her without interference. Difficult, but not necessarily impossible. The trick would be to find her without actually knowing where she was. If he didn't know where she was then whoever was watching him couldn't know either. And to do that, he needed Goddard.

As he activated the DNA scanner to his clubhouse he couldn't help wondering whether he was wasting his time. If what he had been told were true then it was quite possible that all the equipment he had built and used would be nothing more than props and completely non-functional. On the other hand, he told himself, even if they were just props the technology needed to make them appear functional for the show had to work. If that were the case then there was a chance that what he was attempting to do would succeed. If not, he would have to think of something else which would undoubtedly be much riskier.

To his relief, he was greeted by Vox's familiar voice when he entered the clubhouse. "Hello, Jimmy."

"Hello, Vox," he replied. "Request access to lab." If the Vox simulation was working. Jimmy reasoned, then the rest of the lab might also be functioning.

"Access granted," replied Vox as the hatch to his laboratory opened. "Have a nice day."

"Thank you, Vox," he said as he dropped down the chute.

"You're welcome."

He landed in what should have been his lab and looked carefully around. It appeared just as he remembered although that didn't mean much. Whether it was a set or a lab, he had been coming here nearly every day for years and what it looked like didn't mean much. What mattered was whether any of the devices he needed actually worked. He seated himself before his computer console and tentatively flipped some switches, carefully checking each time to see whether the result was as he expected. When everything seemed to check out normally (whatever that meant anymore) he activated a communicator and said, "Goddard?"

After a few seconds he heard a familiar bark.

"It's good to hear you, boy. Come to the lab right away. I need you." In response Goddard barked several times and Jimmy shook his head. "I can't tell you now, boy. Just get here. It's important." When Goddard replied with an obedient bark Jimmy relaxed and switched off the communicator. It was entirely possible, he supposed, that whoever was watching him might be using Goddard to spy on him, but it was a risk he had to take. If he moved fast enough it might give him enough time to learn what he had to know.

Less than a minute after Jimmy had called Goddard the mechanical canine entered the lab and stood in front of Jimmy, awaiting further orders. Jimmy knelt down next to the robotic dog. "System diagnostics mode, Goddard," he said. Obediently Goddard flipped up the plate covering his video monitor and began displaying columns of data that Jimmy carefully scrutinized as they scrolled past. If the information meant anything Goddard appeared to be fully operational and functioning normally. Then, again, if Goddard were just a machine built for the show the information could just be fictitious preprogrammed data in a memory bank and completely meaningless. Having no better way to determine which possibility was valid Jimmy located a screwdriver, opened an access panel, and used the screwdriver to short two terminals inside Goddard. Immediately several lines of data began flashing red and Goddard leapt backwards with a yelp of protest.

"Sorry, boy," Jimmy apologized as he put the screwdriver back on a workbench. "I know this might not make sense to you, but I had to find out if you were as real as I need you to be." Goddard cocked his head to one side as though trying to understand what Jimmy was trying to say, and Jimmy shook his head. "Never mind. I'm pretty sure that I can depend on you for what I need. Ready?"

Goddard barked an affirmative.

"Good. Vox!" he called. "Cindy Vortex is not at school or home or with friends. Compute her most probable current location and transfer coordinates to Goddard using encrypted sub-harmonic carrier. Delete coordinates from memory once transfer is complete."

"Coordinates computed and transferred," Vox announced after several seconds. "Information deleted from system."

Normally Jimmy would have accepted the statement at face value but recent events had left him, if not actually paranoid, at least suspicious. "Vox! Provide coordinates of Cindy Vortex."

"Coordinates are not in system," Vox responded after several seconds.

Satisfied, Jimmy turned to Goddard. "All right, Goddard. You're the only one who knows where Cindy probably is right now. That means I should be able to reach her before anyone can stop us. Activate Flycycle Turbo Mode and take me to her at top speed." As instructed Goddard converted into the desired vehicle, lifted into the air and, with Jimmy astride him, sped away down the drainage tunnel leading to the outside.

In the monitor room one of the two observers there turned to the other. "What's going on?"

The cigarette-smoking man exhaled a cloud of smoke before replying. "I thought it was fairly obvious. The robot is taking him to Cindy – or where she probably should be." He took another slow puff on the cigarette.

"Why didn't the robot signal where she is? How did we lose control?"

"Goddard isn't a human being. His programming either does what it's supposed to do or it doesn't. Among other things, he's programmed to be obedient to Jimmy." He gave the figure next to him a look the other couldn't quite interpret. "We never had control."

"I never should have had him in the scenario," the other muttered.

"As you said, he was one of those closest to Jimmy and he would have suspected if Goddard were simply gone. Unfortunately for us we had to have him emulate the way Jimmy would expect Goddard to act, just as we had to make Vox as functional as possible."

"So you're saying that the Vox simulation came up with the correct information and that Jimmy actually is on his way to where Cindy is?"

The cigarette-smoking man ground out the stub of his cigarette and nodded wordlessly.

"So why hasn't the system been able tell us where she is?"

"Because the portion of the system simulating the Vox processes is integrated into the scenario. It has to be accessed from inside." The man stopped to light another cigarette. "It would be like trying to edit your word processor document through your computer monitor."

"So now what?"

The cigarette-smoking man seemed unconcerned about the recent developments, although studied indifference appeared to be his usual manner. "We can track where Neutron is going. We can't get there before him but we can deploy a team to implement containment and damage control before he can learn anything."

"Do you really think that the Vortex girl can tell him anything potentially harmful?" The possibility seemed to unnerve the man's accomplice.

The man with the cigarette continued to smoke as he thoughtfully surveyed the monitor screens. "I don't know," he finally answered. "But she's a potentially dangerous loose end. And I've never liked loose ends. Loose ends have an uncomfortable way of becoming nooses." With this final remark he turned and strode from the room, as though he had come to a decision.

End of Chapter 9.


	10. Part 10 Three Little Words

The Neutron Show

by Gary D. Snyder

Chapter 10:

As the flycyle raced through the skies over Retroville Jimmy wondered where Goddard was taking him. Because he assumed that Cindy was hiding he had expected her to have left the city, but Goddard's course appeared to be taking him towards the heart of the city. At the speed he and Goddard were travelling he didn't have long to wonder about this, for their apparent goal came quickly into view. At first he thought that it merely chanced to lie along Goddard's course but as the flycyle came to a landing there was no doubt that this was the planned destination.

He was at Retroland.

Jimmy looked doubtfully about him. "I don't know, Goddard," he said as Goddard resumed his normal canine form. "Are you sure that this is the right place?" When the robotic dog barked as affirmative Jimmy simply shrugged in resignation. "Okay, then. Let's go find Cindy."

Finding her actually proved to be more difficult than he anticipated. Although it was the middle of a weekday there seemed to be a large number of visitors to the amusement park and finding her became a task similar to finding the proverbial needle in a haystack. Maybe, he admitted to himself, Retroland had been a good choice for Cindy. It certainly hadn't been an obvious place for him to look, and there was any number of locations in which she could conceal herself. The down side, he realized, was that every minute spent looking meant another minute for anyone else looking for her to arrive and find her.

He and Goddard made the circuit around the park, searching the lines and immediate environs around the _Bat Outta Heck_, _Octa-Puke_, _Show Me the Mummy_, _Firedrill_, and other popular thrill rides with no success. A check of the _Smack a Tack_ proved equally fruitless, and even a search of children's attractions such as the _Flutter By_ ride and petting zoo failed to locate Cindy. Finally, worn out from searching and worrying, he dropped onto a bench to rest and think with Goddard at his side.

"I don't get it, Goddard," he said. "I've looked everywhere I thought she might be. Where else is there?"

In response Goddard opened his chest plate to reveal the message:

THE GIRLS' ROOM

Jimmy gave his head a vigorous shake at that. "Uh-uh, no way! There is no way that I'm going in there." And Goddard deactivated and concealed his video screen Jimmy went on. "I don't know. Maybe Vox really isn't a computer and couldn't come up with a real answer. Or maybe it is and just came up with a wrong answer. All I could really expect was a probable location, not a certain one." He stood up in defeat and began heading towards the exit. "Let's go back home. Maybe Vox can give us another place to check."

Goddard obediently fell in beside Jimmy and they trudged towards the park entrance. Before they got there, however, Jimmy heard a familiar voice say, "Hello, Jimmy."

Surprised, Jimmy turned to face the speaker. Sitting in the coin-operated _Strato XL_ ride not ten feet away was Cindy. She was not looking at him. Instead, her head was down and she seemed deep in thought, sitting so quietly and motionless that she might easily have been mistaken as an exhibit for the ride. Surrounded as they were by the milling crowds Jimmy would have walked right past without noticing her had she not spoken.

"Cindy!" Jimmy exclaimed as he walked up to her. "You weren't in school and no one knew where you were. What are you doing here?"

Her voice was almost inaudible. "Thinking."

"About what?"

"Nothing." She gave a slight shrug. "Everything."

"That doesn't make sense."

"Nothing makes sense."

That was certainly so, at least to Jimmy. Lately nothing made sense to him. He had hoped that Cindy would be able to help change that, but it seemed that she was just as confused as him. Was it possible that she hadn't been the person leaving the messages for him? "Did you want to talk about it?" he offered. "Maybe together we can figure things out. Maybe make sense of things."

"I don't think there's enough time."

"Enough time to talk?"

"Enough time for me."

Jimmy didn't like the way Cindy was talking. She seemed depressed and he knew that people who became depressed enough sometimes thought of ending it all. "Cindy," he said, "let's go someplace and talk." When she said nothing he added in a wheedling tone, "Please?"

Slowly, and seemingly almost unwillingly, Cindy climbed out of the rocket ship ride and accompanied Jimmy to an empty bench. When they were seated Jimmy waited for her to speak. _Listen_, he told himself. _Don't talk. Just listen. This is about he, not you right nowr._

After what seemed an eternity Cindy finally said, "Do you remember the first time we met?"

Jimmy thought back. "In the Retroville citywide junior spelling bee when we were both about six."

"We were the last two left. Even the middle school kids had been eliminated. Then it came my turn to spell 'caracul'. I spelled it c-a-r-a-c-u-l and when the judges said I was wrong and had you spell it you spelled it k-a-r-a-k-u-l. My mother challenged it and the judges said that your spelling was the preferred variant and gave you first prize even though my spelling was technically correct."

Jimmy said nothing. He remembered the incident well and preferred not to go into it but didn't want Cindy to stop talking.

"My mother made a big fuss about it but the judges said their decision was final and that you were the winner. She said I'd been cheated out of first place because of you."

"I'm sorry," was all Jimmy could say.

"Then you didn't even bother to go to the regional competition." Cindy's voice became hot and tight. "I'd studied day and night to win and then when you won you didn't even bother to go on. It was like everything that was important to me meant nothing to you…like what I cared about wasn't even worth your time." She took a deep, quavering breath. "I hated you even more for that than for my mother saying that you had cheated me. And for years I hated you because I thought you were some big show-off who thought he was too good to even come to our school, even though that made me the smartest one there. And then when you did start coming I hated you because you the smartest instead of me."

Jimmy couldn't thing of a response, but Cindy saved him from having to reply.

"And then, years later, I found out what had happened. I learned that you didn't go to the regional competition because you told the judges it wasn't fair and that I should have won, and that if I didn't go then you wouldn't either. And I found out that your parents wouldn't let you go to regular school because you were smaller and all the other kids bullied you and made fun of you because you were smarter and they thought you were trying to be the teacher's pet. Your parents waited until they thought you could hide how smart you really were."

"I'm still pretty bad at doing that," Jimmy said softly.

"No. You don't lie very well." She was fidgeting with something in her hands as she spoke. "But in a way your whole life was a lie. You hadn't cheated me like my mother told me. You didn't think you were too good for the rest of us students like we all thought. Until the Yolkians took all our parents and you helped get them back most of us didn't even know how…brave or noble you could be. But you are and you deserve to know the truth about things."

"I already know," Jimmy replied. "I was told everything. I know that none of that was real. My life, my friends, everyone I've known and everything I've done was just make-believe. Everything was a lie."

Cindy interrupted him. "No," she said softly, looking at him for the first time. "Not everything. There's something important that I want you to know."

Jimmy suddenly remembered why he had been searching for her so desperately. "What is it?"

"We've been through a lot and even though I deny it a lot I know that we've gotten pretty close. I want you to know that…well, the truth is…"

She was interrupted by the sound of screeching tires and the sound of car doors being slammed. Startled, the two looked up to see men in dark suits and sunglasses rushing towards them from sleek, official-looking automobiles that had driven into the wide walkway. Before Jimmy could protest two men had seized Cindy on either side and begun pulling her towards one of the cars. That was enough to galvanize Jimmy into action. He attempted to move towards the vehicle into which Cindy was being placed and was blocked by two other men. Another two men blocked Goddard, who was watching them warily and growling.

"What are you doing?" Jimmy called out angrily. "Where are you taking her?"

"Her parents have been looking for her everywhere," one of the two men told him. "There's been a family emergency and they need to leave town immediately."

This didn't satisfy Jimmy at all. "What emergency? Where? When will she be back?"

As the car with Cindy pulled away the men detaining Jimmy and Goddard headed to their own vehicles without answering. Jimmy followed after them, demanding answers and receiving none. As he watched the cars depart he was somehow certain that attempting to follow would be useless and, further, that he would not see Cindy again. Even if his friendship with Cindy hadn't been real the realization that she was gone distressed him. Dazed, he plodded back to the bench and dropped into it. What had she wanted to tell him?

As he slumped forward, trying to collect his thoughts, he spotted something on the ground and reached down to pick it up. It was a Retroland souvenir photo button with a picture of Cindy that she had apparently dropped when the men had dragged her away. Below the photo was the trite and somehow incongruous caption _Greetings from Retroland_. For long minutes Jimmy regarded the picture as his fingers gently stroked it_. We didn't even get to say good-bye_, he thought numbly.

Without trying to understand why he was doing so he felt for the pin on the back to fasten the button to his shirt and frowned when he found nothing. Turning the button over he immediately saw that the pin had been removed. Closer examination showed that there were fine scratches on the back, most probably made with the missing pin. The marks were very faint and difficult for him to make out, but after several minutes scrutiny he was able to make out Cindy's last message to him. On the back of the pin were the words:

BELIEVE THE LIE

End of Chapter 10.

Author's Notes:

One reader wanted to know if Sheen was supposed to be Asian. Undoubtedly the answer has already been posted but if not the answer is that Sheen Guerrero Estevez is of self-proclaimed Mexican descent, as indicated in _Jimmy Neutron: Rescue Jet Fusion_. He is, as far as I know, the only one of the five main characters who has only one parent (a father) although he has mentioned that he has sisters. A bit of trivia, the origin of which I can't recall, is that the name Sheen Estevez is an homage to the brothers Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez, sons of Martin Sheen. I feel a little bad that I haven't given Sheen and Libby more attention, but the next story I plan to write will give them much more time in print than I've given them thus far.


	11. Part 11 The Mirror Crack'd

The Neutron Show

by Gary D. Snyder

Chapter 11:

_Believe the lie?_ Jimmy thought. _Is that what Cindy wanted me to know?_ He shook his head in confusion. First had been "The truth is out there." Then "All lies lead to the truth." And now "Believe the lie." None of it made sense to him, but perhaps it wasn't supposed to. Maybe it was all part of the show and not meant to mean anything, like a ridiculous story about a pizza having a dream about a boy having a dream about a man having a dream about a boy having a dream about him having a dream about a sleepover. In a fantasy world, was anything ever real?

Yes, there was. He hadn't had the chance to hear what Cindy wanted to tell him, but whatever she had wanted to say had been real. He realized that there was no logical proof of it, but in his short life he had learned that logic as a means to the truth couldn't lead to all truth. There were things in life that couldn't be proven logically and required other means of discovery and corroboration. Things, he thought, like the look in Cindy's eyes and the tone of her voice. This message, odd as it might seem, had been her last attempt to help him and scientist or not he would defy any truth system because of his own faith in her.

But having decided that, what did it all mean?

He rose and shambled along, his head down and barely aware of the presence of Goddard or the other people he passed. The messages were clues, he was certain, so what were they attempting tell him? It was as though something was still missing…something he should be able to see but was just beyond his reach.

He stopped short and looked up, aware that he was about to run into someone, and was startled to see his own image looking back at him. While lost in thought he had blundered into the Hall of Mirrors without realizing it and now found himself surrounded by his reflections. He had a disquieting sensation of _déjà vu_ as he recalled the dream he had experienced and for a moment wondered if what he was seeking lay inside among the many distorted and reversed images residing inside.

He straightened with the shock of a true epiphany. _Reversed images…_

The first message had been on the classroom chalkboard, but the other two had been on the back, or reverse, sides of things. In the order he had discovered them they made no sense. But reversing them gave the message:

BELIEVE THE LIE. ALL LIES LEAD TO THE TRUTH. THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE.

Cindy hadn't been trying to conceal the messages from others, as he had first believed. She had been leaving clues _within_ the clues.

Enervated by this realization Jimmy tried to glean more information from the messages. But try as he might he could not seem to get any further. To get to the truth he apparently had to believe the lie, but it seemed as though dozens of lies surrounded him. What lie could she have been referring to? And why would she have made it so difficult for him to find the truth if it were so important?

Jimmy had known Cindy for so long that even without a phenomenal memory he could easily have pictured her standing before him with her hands on her hips and an impatient look on her face. "Why?" she seemed to be telling him. "Because I believed you could do it."

At first this told him nothing. But then, as the nature of Cindy's message suddenly dawned on him, Jimmy couldn't help marveling at just how subtle her message truly had been. She would not have bothered to send such a puzzle unless she had been certain that he was smart enough to solve it. The puzzle itself was the solution. He had been told that everything he had known was nothing more than the product of someone's imagination, and that everything he had believed about his world and himself was a lie.

__

Believe the lie.

_All right_, he told himself, _suppose I really am a genius and everything I believed about myself is true. Where am I? And how do I get out of here?_

Unfortunately, he decided, either Cindy didn't know or had no way of telling him that. It had been all she could do let him realize what the situation was before she had been hauled away, almost certainly for good. But had even that been real? As often as he and Cindy had been at odds with each other he did not believe that she would willingly participate in something as twisted as this. It was even less like that his other friends or parents would either. That meant that everyone here was either an exceptional actor or some sort of sophisticated simulation.

As he and Goddard threaded their way through the labyrinth of mirrors he quickly decided that only a simulation could possibly explain his circumstances. The sheer magnitude of replicating Retroville and its inhabitants with real materials and people, even the limited segments with which he normally interacted, would be absolutely staggering if even possible. That meant that he had to be in some sort of virtual reality world, probably a computer-enhanced holographic simulation similar to his Game Pyramid. Even so, something of this magnitude would still be enormously expensive and time-consuming to build and operate. Who in the world would go to the trouble and expense of trying to convince him that his whole life had been an illusion? And who did he know that could have a big enough grudge and enough money to try pulling it off? Only one name fit the facts and it came like a hiss from between Jimmy's clenched teeth.

"Eustace Strych!"

With the realization came renewed determination for Jimmy to put an end to this charade. If for no other reason he would get out of here and somehow settle the score with Eustace. The only problem was that he had no idea where exactly he really was, nor how to get out of it. With the Game Pyramid Jimmy had programmed the simulation to end once the game was over. With this simulation the conditions to end it could be nearly anything. As Jimmy recalled the options the "creator" had given him he realized that the only one able to end the simulation might be the person running it. If so, Eustace could and almost certainly would demand anything he desired to release Jimmy.

"All right, Eustance!" he shouted. "I've figured it out! You might as well end this now and let me out of here!"

For long seconds there was nothing but silence. Then a familiarly insufferable snigger echoed around him. "Or what?"

"There are laws against kidnaping. My parents will be looking for me, and when they find me –"

"Actually, Neutron, no one is looking for you. Quite fortuitously your parents won a two-week all-expenses paid vacation for two and are out of town. Of course, they were concerned for your welfare during their absence, and since my father and yours had become such good Flurp buddies during your last visit it was quite natural for them to accept my invitation for you to stay with me during their romantic getaway."

"My friends –" Jimmy began.

"- are under the impression that you're with your parents on their trip." There came the sound of a sigh and Eustace's voice was filled with mock sorrow. "I'm afraid that you're really all alone for two weeks. Unless, of course, you wish to come to an agreement."

Jimmy suspected he knew what Eustace wanted but asked anyway. "What kind of agreement?"

"Oh, nothing much." The voice took on a sly tone. "Just that dog of yours."

Even though Jimmy now knew that the Goddard next to him was only a simulation he threw his arms protectively around the robotic dog. "Never!" he cried.

"Well, have it your way. Two weeks is a long time to be alone. And it's entirely possible that your parents' vacation might be somehow…prolonged. Several times, if need be."

Jimmy was almost stuttering with rage. "I'll find some way out of this cage!" he snarled, shaking his fist at the sky.

"Really? I recently heard about a similar situation where a test subject did just that, but then again he wasn't in your situation. He was in a real cage and you're in an encephalically-stabilized holographic simulation, if you can understand what that is. It will be interesting to see if you can make as much of a monkey of yourself." Eustace's voice laughed as though at some private joke, and then there was a pause. "I really would reconsider if I were you."

Jimmy gave his head a vigorous shake. "No way, Useless."

"That's Eustace!" the voice snapped back before regaining control "Very well, have it your way. I'll contact you again in…oh…say a week."

"Make it a week, a month, or a century – I'll never give up Goddard!" Jimmy shouted back. "Do you hear me?"

There was no reply to this and Jimmy sat down on a bench to think. At least Eustace had confirmed that he was in a holographic simulation, albeit an extremely sophisticated one. Whereas virtual simulations like those in his Game Pyramid were generated and maintained entirely by computer this one apparently drew from his own and others' thoughts and memories to help generate and refine whatever he experienced. He was in a world that could be as real and vast as the one from which he had been taken. Eustace seemed certain he could not get out on his own, but Jimmy was sure that there was a way out of any cage if only he could find it. He wished that Cindy, or the simulation of her, were with him. She had given him the clues to what was happening, but had been taken before she could tell him anything more.

Or had she? She hadn't said much to him since he had been here, but maybe…

"Come on, Jimmy," he muttered to himself. "Think. Think! Think!"

__

All lies lead to the truth…

Aren't you worried about a crash?…

You always find a way to take it to another level…

"Brain blast!" he cried. If Eustace was so determined to keep him in a virtual world he would go him one better. Instead of trying to escape the lie, he would go even further in.

End of Chapter 11.

Author's Notes:

A question arose as to how old the kids are. At the beginning of the series Jimmy were 10, going on 11, as in "Hypno Birthday To You" he was supposedly 18 years old having after 8 pseudo-birthdays. In my first fiction, "It's an Alternate Life" I put him at 11 and slowly have been moving him towards 12. The other kids, except for Sheen, are about the same age. Sheen who is apparently a couple years older than the other kids in Miss Fowl's class, as in "Jimmy Neutron: Rescue Jet Fusion" it was revealed that he had been held back twice.


	12. Part 12 The Fifth Protocol

The Neutron Show

by Gary D. Snyder

Chapter 12:

Jimmy and Goddard, again using Goddard's Flycycle Turbo Mode, returned to the lab where Jimmy immediately set to work with a will. As he assembled the various components and tools he would need Eustace and the cigarette-smoking man watched him on one of the main screens in the monitor room. Although the man maintained an attitude of wary vigilance Eustace seemed openly disdainful of Jimmy's efforts.

"Go ahead and try, Neutron," he sneered. "There's only one way out this, and I'm it. None of your gadgets will help you this time."

The man next to him said nothing, inhaling the smoke with almost studied care and letting it out just as deliberately. The man's manner, much as did everything else he could not fully control, irritated Eustace.

"Well?" he finally demanded when the man remained silent. "Why do you think I'm wrong?"

The man removed the cigarette from his mouth and flicked ash into the overflowing ashtray. "I didn't say anything."

"But you were thinking it, weren't you?" Eustace stared suspiciously at the man. "You think that he'll find a way, don't you?"

_He's smarter than he looks_, the man conceded to himself as he stubbed out the spent cigarette and pulled a pack from inside the jacket of his suit. "Like I said, he's not a monkey. He wasn't supposed to figured out what was going on the way he did either, but he did."

Eustace steamed at the reminder. "Thanks to his girlfriend, Cindy Vortex. We should have removed her from the scenario much earlier."

The man heaved a sigh and extracted a fresh smoke from the pack. "There was no way to know what she was doing until it was too late. We were monitoring Neutron, not all his associates. They were all part of the scenario and were under our control – or should have been." He snapped open his lighter and paused as he lit his cigarette. "The engrams you modified them with introduced factors we couldn't control."

"It was necessary. And none of the others deviated so radically from the operating parameters. Why should she have done so?"

The man shrugged indifferently. "For whatever reasons, she has apparently has deeper and stronger feelings for him than the others. Although Subject Wheezer's feelings for Judy -" He was cut off by Eustace's scornful words.

"You mean Vortex is –" Eustace made tick marks in the air with his fingers. "- 'crushing' on him."

"Maybe. But I'd say that's a pretty simplistic view." He let a stream of smoke escape into the already hazy air.

"What does that mean?"

The man, who had been so taciturn before, seemed unusually willing to communicate now. "Did you ever see any of those black and white movies from the '30s and '40s?"

"Huh?"

"You know. Tracy and Hepburn. Stewart and Reed. Bogart and Bacall. Gable, Lombard, Flynn, De Haviland, Colman, Bergman…all the greats." He paused and solemnly considered Eustace, who was staring blankly at him. "Strike that. You never have." He puffed easily on his cigarette. "That's too bad. They were great films. Classic romances. And smoking was glamorous then." He leaned forward, his words for Eustace but his eyes glued to the monitor on which Jimmy was still busily at work. "When you watched those movies you just knew that the two leading characters were meant for each other. Even through the fights and misunderstandings at the beginning of the show you knew that, when the final reel faded and all the women were sobbing into their handkerchiefs, that the two would be together in each other's arms."

Eustace tried to understand and failed. "I don't see it."  
"Probably not. Maybe if this really were a television show you would." The voice suddenly became cold and objective again. "He's just about finished."

In the lab Jimmy finished soldering the final wires and tightening the last connectors on the frame. To an impartial observer the two devices looked like door frames ringed with Christmas tree lights. Goddard tilted his head, first to one side and then to the other, in an attempt to determine the purpose of the strange structures.

"What do you think, boy?" Jimmy asked. Goddard simply shook his head in reply. "I know they don't look like much," Jimmy admitted, "but I didn't have a lot of time to waste making them pretty. But if I'm right, these should get us – I mean, me - out of here." In answer to Goddard's quizzical look Jimmy explained, "I simply combined the technology of my quantum replay and the transdimensional vortex generator that I used to send you to Timmy Turner's world for a while. These should create a bridge between this portal -" He pointed to one of the doorways. "- and this other portal 5 minutes in the future." He took a deep breath. "Well, here I go. I'll see you in 5 minutes."

As Eustace and his accomplice watched, Jimmy stepped through the first doorway. There was no apparent effect other than a flash of light as Jimmy immediately stepped through the other. Eustace seemed puzzled as Jimmy walked over to the first portal and stepped through again, appearing as before in a flash from the other doorway. "What on Earth is he doing?" he said aloud.

The man leaned back in resignation. "He's found the fifth protocol."

"What?" Eustace glared at him, not understanding the words but recognizing the tone. "What does that mean?"

"The monkey had four ways out of the cage and he found a fifth. So did Neutron. He's beaten you."

Eustace looked back at Jimmy, who was continuing the odd ritual of passing through the doors. "What do you mean? He's not really going through time. The holographic generator is merely creating a new simulation that makes it appear as thought he's jumped 5 minutes into the future."

"I know that. So does Neutron. That's the whole point."

Eustace refused to believe that he'd been bested yet again. "Would you mind explaining it to me?"

The main pointed to the two doorways on the screen. "If he'd created just one portal there would be no problem, as the system could have discarded the old simulation and created a new one. But every time he passes through the first door he arrives in a simulation that's linked to the previous simulation through the second door. Each time he makes a new 'time jump' the system has to save all the old simulations that came before. It can create a hundred Retrovilles, but that won't be enough. Eventually the number of levels will overload the system and it will crash." He ground out his half-finished cigarette and couldn't keep an edge of admiration out of his voice as he spoke. "The system was built to create a virtually perfect copy…and that's exactly what's going to beat it."

As the ghastly truth sank in Eustace let out a scream of frustration and pounded the console in front of him. "No! I won't allow it! I won't be beaten again by Neutron! Not again!"

"You have no choice." He glanced at his watch. "I'd say you have about ten minutes to salvage what you can."

Eustace stopped his tirade, breathing heavily as he regarded the man. "What do you mean?"

"We still have positive control of the system. We can manage a controlled shutdown and restore Neutron to Retroville on our terms, or we can let the system crash and let it all hit the fan when it does. He wasn't lying about the kidnaping laws."

Eustace stared in undisguised fury at the man but knew the game was over. "All right," he finally said. "Begin shutdown." As the man turned to a phone on the wall and began quietly speaking into the mouthpiece Eustace turned to the video screen again. "That's twice now, Neutron," he muttered savagely. "And someday, I'll make you pay. By all I hold sacred I swear I'll make you pay!"

The man finished speaking and replaced the receiver on the hook. "And speaking of paying, I'll be in contact someday to collect."

Eustace started at that. "What? I paid you for the facilities and technicians and time. What are you talking about?"

The man simply lit another cigarette. "You paid for all that," he agreed, "but not for the opportunity. Agreeing to deal with you at all was a favor, and my business depends heavily on having favors returned. I'll be around to collect someday. It might not be anything big, but you never can tell."

"You can't be serious!"

"When you dance to the music you have to pay the fiddler," the man went on in an almost bored tone, as thought this were a wearily familiar topic of conversation to him. "And sometimes it's Old Scratch playing the tune."

Despite his situation Eustace tried one last time. "And if I don't agree?"

"Your choice," the man replied as he headed for the door. "But remember what I said."

"And what's that?"

The man paused at the doorway to take a deep lungful of smoke and exhale it. "Nobody lives forever," he replied. As he disappeared from the room Eustace suddenly wished that he had a glass of water. The smoke, he told himself, had suddenly made his throat very dry.

It's not unusual for people, when first waking up, to experience a limited form of amnesia about certain things, such as where they are, what day it is, or their plans for the coming day. When Jimmy awoke the next morning he had such an experience, albeit in a different form and more strongly than usual. He was, so far as he could tell, in his bedroom where he should have been, but it seemed to him that he should be somewhere else. Where exactly he felt he should have been escaped him, and as he dwelt more on the subject he suddenly realized that he could not remember coming home at all the previous day. He could remember taking his class pictures, having the spat with Cindy, and leaving for home, but everything between then and now was a blank. This in itself was unusual, as Jimmy had a photographic memory and could recall with ease virtually anything that had happened to him since before he had been old enough to talk.

His mother's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Jimmy! You'd had better get up or you'll be late for school!"

At these words Jimmy sat straight up in bed almost as though he'd been shocked. "Wow," he said. "Déjà vu."

End of Chapter 12.

Author's Notes:

In this story I'm not going to divulge any details of how Jimmy got to or from where he was, or even where he was, as from Jimmy's point of view the very nightmare of the situation was not knowing where he was. It also lends more of an "X-Files" feel to the story where not everything is completely revealed and the viewer (or in this case reader) has to draw his or her own conclusions. Things are always more sinister when kept in the shadows, and based on the speculation in the feedback for this story I'd say some of the ideas people will come up with would be far more inventive than anything I can devise.


	13. Epilogue You Must Remember This

The Neutron Show

by Gary D. Snyder

Epilogue:

At school Jimmy's friends couldn't help noticing that Jimmy was acting rather oddly (or, in Cindy's opinion, more oddly than usual). At times it seemed almost as though he were looking for something that wasn't there, and at others as though he were attempting to reassure himself that something that was there actually should be. In class Miss Fowl had to repeat things at least twice before he would respond, and his answers, when he finally gave them, were vague and rambling. It was almost, Cindy thought, the way that someone who was sleepwalking would act. By the time lunch period arrived most of the kids gave Jimmy a wide berth in the lunchroom, and even Sheen and Carl, Jimmy's closest friends, were uncertain how to approach him.

"Hey, Jimmy," Carl said tentatively. "Is there…something wrong?"

"Wrong?" Jimmy looked around him. "Wrong? Why? Did you notice something?"

Carl was puzzled. "Like what?"

Jimmy looked around him suspiciously. "I'm not sure. Maybe that each kid has the same kind of lunchbox. Or brought the same kind of sandwich and snack to school." He suddenly stared hard at the clock and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the minute hand advance. "Or the clocks in school always having the same time."

"Well, yeah, Jim," said Sheen. "But they're all supposed to tell the same time."

Jimmy shook his head vigorously. "No. I mean the time on them never changing." He suddenly dashed to the window and stared outside. "Did that same car drive by here a few minutes ago?" he muttered frantically. "Hard to say." He glanced at his watch and looked up again. "I'll give it about three minutes and see."

Sheen and Carl looked at each other and shrugged. "Um, Jimmy? Maybe if you tell us what's going on –" Sheen began after a minute or two of uncomfortable silence.

Jimmy ignored him as he considered the position of the sun. "What's the date today?" he muttered, just loud enough for his friends to hear. "Let's see, based on that and the current time, the position of the sun should be approximately 5 degrees west of south with a right ascension of …yes, that seems to check." He heard the sound of a car approaching and looked sharply to examine the vehicle as it passed. "No," he mumbled, chewing thoughtfully on a thumbnail, "not the same…but it could be that the repetition is based on a number of relatively prime cycles thus creating a long-term pseudo-random sequence that –"

He was interrupted as Sheen and Carl each grabbed an arm and dragged him from the window to an empty table. "Okay, Jimmy," Sheen said when they had all sat down. "Spill. What's going on?"

Jimmy gave Sheen and Carl sly, knowing looks. "Don't you know?" he whispered. "Or aren't you supposed to let me know you know?"

"You know, Jimmy, you're my friend and if there's something wrong I want to help you, but you're really creeping me out now," Carl answered as he wrung his hands nervously. He seemed about ready to cry.

That seemed to reach something inside Jimmy. The tension in him seemed to melt away although he still seemed cautious. Leaning forward he asked in a low voice, "Can I really trust you?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die," said Carl, crossing himself.

"Me, too," agreed Sheen. "Cross my heart and hope Carl dies." This sank in for Carl a few seconds later but before he could object Jimmy began speaking.

"I'm not really sure," he said hesitantly. "I can't remember any of the details, but I remember having a strange dream last night that I wasn't really where I thought I was. I mean," he went on, groping for the right words, "even though I was here in Retroville, it was all fake. The people, the city, everything. I only started to realize it when certain things didn't add up."

"Pretty twisted, Jimmy," was Sheen's comment.

"I know," Jimmy agreed, shuddering. "Being trapped in world that wasn't real is pretty bizarre."

"No," Sheen corrected him. "I mean using math to get your point across."

"But if it was just a dream," Carl said, "why are you so upset?"

Jimmy looked around him again. "Because if I thought that existence was reality and it was all a fake," he whispered, "then how can I be sure that this is real?"

Sheen seemed perplexed. "Does this reality have an Ultra Lord?"

Both Jimmy and Carl stared at him. "Yes," Carl said finally.

"Then what's the problem?" Sheen asked in relief. "As long as Ultra Lord exists who cares if the rest is real or not?"

Had Jimmy not had a vague recollection that the Sheen in the other world was equally fanatical in his devotion to Ultra Lord Jimmy might have been convinced. As it was he was still faced with the same predicament of knowing whether this existence was real or not. Only Carl, who had been through something similar, seemed to understand.

"Gee, Jimmy," he said. "Not knowing if this is all real or not is pretty bad."

"I know," Jimmy replied miserably as he slumped over the table.

"I mean, it's like that dream I had with the giant lima bean where I thought I was awake when I was really asleep and you had to do that desperate thing to convince me that I wasn't really awake and only dreaming so that I could wake up and …"

As Carl continued talking Jimmy suddenly straightened up. "Of course!" he exclaimed. "Carl!"

Carl stopped talking and cringed. "What?" he asked fearfully.

"You're a genius!" Excited, Jimmy leaped up from his seat and dashed over to the table where Cindy and Libby were deep in conversation, with Carl and Sheen following behind him in curiosity. Cindy looked up in annoyance at Jimmy's approach.

"What is it, Neutron?" she demanded impatiently. "Didn't I get to see enough of your weirdness in class this morning?"

"Actually," replied Jimmy, "no." Without warning he placed his hands on either side of Cindy's face and pulled her lips to his, giving her a long and tender kiss. At first Cindy's body stiffened in utter shock, but as the kiss persisted her body relaxed and let Jimmy draw her closer to him. After perhaps thirty seconds Jimmy pulled away and looked expectantly into Cindy's half-closed eyes. After thirty seconds of staring dreamily back at him Cindy seemed to awaken and a look of anger replaced her pleasantly dazed expression. Without any preliminaries she drew back and slapped him, spinning him around and dumping him on the floor at her feet. She drew herself up and stood over him.

"What's your damage, Neutron?" she demanded angrily, her hands planted on her hips. "Just because you were spacing off all this morning you think you have the right to make me barf or something?" Fuming, she stormed out of the lunchroom with Libby close behind her. Carl and Sheen helped Jimmy to his feet.

"You okay, Jimmy?" Carl asked.

Jimmy rubbed his cheek and nodded. Although his cheek still stung from Cindy's slap he was much more aware of the pleasant tingle that still lingered on his lips. "Uh-huh," he replied absently. He sighed and looked in the direction that Cindy had gone. "I guess that even if all this isn't real, I can live with it."

Cindy, in the meantime, continued stalking away, muttering to herself. It wasn't until Libby caught up with her that she stopped and glared back towards the lunchroom. "Can you believe the nerve of Nerd-tron actually kissing me?" she demanded.

Libby nodded. "I guess so," she answered. "But I notice it took you quite a while to get upset about it."

"Hey, I was in shock!" Cindy spluttered in protest. "You don't think I actually enjoyed that, did you?"

"I don't know. Did you?" As Cindy gritted her teeth and growled Libby folded her arms and said, "Do you know what I think?"

"What?" Cindy's reply was more defiant than curious.

"I think that you're more upset that it took Jimmy this long to plant one on you than you are about him actually doing it."

"That's ridiculous!" Cindy scoffed. "Neutron and I mean nothing to each other."

"Really? So there's nothing at all between you two? No spark, no chemistry, no heat whatsoever?"

Cindy's answer seemed a little too quick. "No." After several seconds, however, she looked a little uncomfortable. "I mean, I'm pretty sure there isn't. Although sometimes…"

"Yes?"

"Promise you won't tell?" Cindy asked. "I mean, really not tell, not just wait until you can pull up your speed dial list."

Libby sighed. "Okay, sure. I promise." At Cindy's hard look she raised her right hand. "Really. Word of honor."

Libby's promise was the best that Cindy would get and she knew it. "Well," she said, "I'm pretty sure that there really isn't anything there. I mean, how can I really be expected get serious about a brain bag like Neutron that falls for every pretty face that comes down the pike? But still…sometimes…"

Libby waited patiently. "Yes?" she urged. Cindy looked around carefully to make sure the two of them really were alone before answering. Even Libby, two feet away, could barely hear Cindy's words.

"I want to believe."

THE END


End file.
